Pepper and Tomato Pasta

My mom had always told me that peppers and pasta don’t go well together, except for a few very specific mixes with blue cheese and cream. Since she was never wrong about anything else (at least when it comes to cooking) I never made pepper pasta. But a couple of days ago she told me that she had run out of ingredients and tried a pasta with some peppers and tomato sauce, and that it was actually delicious! I tried making my own sauce when I ran out of everything else, and was definitely pleased with the result. It’s nothing crazy, but if you like peppers it’s a great way to change it up a little. 

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 400g pasta
• 2 bell peppers, sliced into thin, short pieces
• 500g cherry tomatoes in tomato juice (like pelati)
• 250g passata
• handful of fresh basil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 gloves of garlic, peeled
• salt
• olive oil
• ground black pepper

Preparation (40 minutes)

Drizzle some olive oil on a pan on medium heat, allow the oil to heat up for 2 minutes and then add the garlic and onions. Stir around for 5 minutes, then add the peppers. Turn the heat down after 3 minutes, and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. It should take about 10 minutes, so go back to the peppers in the pan. Add the cherry tomatoes and passata, some salt and black pepper, and stir with the pan on maximum heat for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down back to medium and continue stirring for another 3 minutes, then add the basil, and leave for another 3 minutes. In the meantime throw the pasta in the pot, and stir around occasionally. After about 7 minutes start tasting it, within 10 minutes the pasta should be ready. When it is, drain it, put it back in the pot, and add the sauce. Serve, eat, and enjoy!