Pasta with roasted pepper and tomato sauce

                                                   

Don't you get tired of eating pasta with tomato sauce every time? I make tomato sauce for my son and have been making it for some time, so I decided to make this instead. I saw chef Michael Smith make roasted pepper sauce in the Chef at Home series and decided to give it a try, although I made mine a little different
I discovered a bag of frozen spinach in a nearby supermarket. Was so excited to see it, and the best part of it, was that it was not all in one bundle more like little balls scrunched up and frozen inside, which makes it easier to take a few handfuls and put them in whatever you are making. So I used some to put in the sauce.

The amount I made looked enough for about 5-6 people. I used just a little sauce and froze the rest.

You will need:

2 Large red bell peppers
3-4 medium tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, with the skin on.
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
about 1/2 cup frozen spinach, or fresh spinach, blanched and chopped up(optional)
Olive oil
1/2 tsp dried herbs
salt and pepper
Pasta( short pasta like fusilli, penne etc)



1. Cut the peppers in half deseed them and remove the white membrane. Cut the tomatoes in half.

2. Place the peppers, tomatoes, garlic and onion wedges in a bowl, add herbs salt and pepper. Add oil and mix well.



Place in a tray, lined with foil ( easier to clean) and roast in oven at about 200- 250 degrees Celsius till everything softens, about 30 - 45 minutes. ( if you like a bit of heat add a whole green chilli along with them.

3. Once the vegetables are soft, remove the garlic cloves and put the rest in a food processor or blender. Squeeze the garlic flesh out of their skin and add to the vegetables. Add the spinach a little water ( a few tablespoons) and puree.

4. Taste the season with salt and pepper.

5. Cook your pasta in boiling salted water till al dente'. Heat your sauce, just to warm it up and toss your pasta in. If you want some meat in, feel free to toss in some leftover roast chicken or sausages.

I would also like to wish all Muslims Ramadhan Mubarak, and hope you all have a blessed and peaceful month of fasting.