Ingredients
- 5 red bell peppers
- 1 cup chopped fresh bazil
- juice of 1 lemon
- olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup pinenuts
- 1 glass vegan white wine
- dash of cayenne pepper
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt to taste
- 16 oz dry penne
Serves: 4-6.
Preparation time: 45 min (I think).
1. Quarter the peppers and remove stem, seeds, and ribs. Turn on your broiler.
2. Put as many of the bell pepper slices on the broiler tray as will fit skin side up (about eight in my broiler). Leave them there for about seven minutes, until the skins are very black and bubbling.
3. When the first shift of peppers has blackened, remove them to a covered glass container or sealed paper bag. Allow them to steam for a few minutes.
4. Then take the blackened, steamed slices out of the bag one by one and run them under cold water. The skin should practically come off at this point, but you may have to do a little peeling. Discard the skin and set aside the peeled slices on a plate with a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of lemon juice.
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 until all peppers are blackened, steamed, and peeled. Be sure to add a little more lemon and olive oil to the plate with each batch.
6. Throw your pinenuts in a non-oiled non-stick skillet over medium heat, toast until just golden. Set aside.
7. When all bell peppers are roasted and peeled and lightly marinated, toss them into a blender. Add the basil, garlic, half the pinenuts, a tad more live oil and the remaining lemon juice. Puree until nearly smooth. If your blender wont fit all the peppers at once, it''s perfectly okay to puree them in shifts.
8. Pour the pureed vegetables into a skillet or pot. Add salt, pepper, cayenne and vegan wine. Simmer over medium flame until pasta is ready.
9. Cook pasta the usual way. When al dente, drain and return to cooking pot. Add pepper sauce and stir until pasta is coated.
10. Serve immediate, top with remaining pinenuts.
Cook pasta the usual way.