Neil's Yummy Pasta Recipe

- Neil recently invented a very good vegetarian pasta recipe to help use up our mammoth bag load of orange peppers from Lewisham Market.  I asked him to write it up so I could pass the love around. So here we go 

P.s Picture from the first time N made the sauce to accompany stuffed chicken breast wrapped in bacon. Also delicious!
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Hello!

This is a diamond of a recipe – great on its own with pasta as a quick lunch or supper, but equally makes a wonderful alfresco lunch with a chicken breast wrapped in bacon.

4 Peppers – any colour but green. I love the orange ones for the colour.

Half a packet of passata (or half of any canned tomato)

2 tbsp of light muscavado sugar

1 vegetable stock cube

“splash” of balsamic vinegar

couple of fresh basil leaves

A good “twirly” pasta like a fusilini :

Equipment

Griddle Pan (Or Grill on high heat if you do not have one)

Saucepan

Food Processor (Or Blender).

1. Prepare your peppers' by cutting out the seeds and remaining gunk. Press these flat down so they will lie as flat as possible on your griddle pan. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat your griddle pan to a strong heat. Once its too hot to hold your hand over the surface, place the pepper skin down. Your looking for the skin to charcoal, which should take 8-10 minutes. Then, flip these over and griddle for another 5 minutes (NB the flesh is more sensitive then the skin side)
3. Take the pepper off the heat. If you have one, place these a sandwich bag –  or alternatively an air lock container for a couple of minutes. This will help “steam” the charcoaled skin off the pepper.
4. Peel the blackened skin off the pepper – I find it easier to do this under a running tap!
5. Get the water into the saucepan and boil ready for the pasta.
6. Chop up the pepper and put into a pan with the tomato, sugar, stock cube and balsamic vinegar. Just after doing this, pour the pasta with some salt and olive oil into the saucepan and bring to the boil.
7. Keep the sauce on the heat for 10 minutes and let it thicken
8. After 10 minutes, tear the basil leaves into the sauce and pour the source into the food processor. Blitz until smooth.
9. Drain your pasta, mix the two together and enjoy!
   
   
   N.B - I (Jenni) love this with salad and a good vinaigrette to balance the sweetness of the sauce.