Fire-Roasted Penne Puttanesca

This recipe appears courtesy of Robyn Gleason, @simplyfreshdinners, and was developed for Chickapea Pasta.

Ingredients

•          1 – 8 ounce package (277g) Chickapea Pasta penne (the spirals and shells will work also)
•          1 pound (453 g) of tomatoes, cut into large wedges
•          1 medium yellow onion, cut into large wedges
•          2 bell peppers, red, whole
•          6 cloves garlic
•          2 tablespoons (28 ml) of extra virgin olive oil (divided in half)
•          1- 2 ounce can (56 g) anchovy fillets packed in oil
•          2 tablespoons (28 ml) capers
•          1/4 cup (50 g) of Spanish olives
•          1/4 cup (50 g) of black olives
•          1 teaspoon (5 ml) crushed red pepper flakes
•          2 tablespoons (28 ml) of fresh basil, chopped
•          zest of one lemon
•          salt and pepper to taste
•          Parmesan cheese, shaved, (optional garnish)

Instructions

1.         Cook pasta according to directions.
2.         Preheat oven to 375 F.
3.         Place tomatoes, onion, bell peppers, and garlic on baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Place in oven to roast for 35 minutes, turning the peppers twice during this time. Remove from oven.
4.         Seed and peel your peppers. Slice the pepper vertically from top to bottom and lay the pepper open so it becomes one long strip. Pull the stem from the top of the pepper. The stem and a clump of seeds should loosen easily. Use a towel or paper towel to wipe off any loose seeds that remain inside the pepper. Flip the pepper over to reveal the skin side. Strip off the charred skin. Chop the flesh of the pepper into large chunks.
5.         Place pepper chunks, tomatoes, onions and garlic in a blender, pulsing 5-6 times or until you have a chunky sauce. Do not overdo this. Set aside for a moment.
6.         In a large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on medium high. Add anchovies and cook until they almost disintegrate.
7.         Add crushed red peppers and the contents of the blender to the pan. Add olives and capers, stir and cover pot, letting simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in the basil and lemon zest. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
8.         Top with Parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes: If you want to save time, you can cut and seed your peppers before roasting but I have to caution that sometimes I find that I lose some of the flavours in this process.

More recipes and information may be found at simplyfreshdinners.com.