Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.
If you were to have one Italian cookbook, this is it. She spread the word on what Italian really is. I go to this book over and over. Serves 4
Note these peppers are peeled rather than roasted. When roasted, peppers become soft and partly cooked, but to be sautéed successfully the peppers need to be raw and firm. And yes, these peppers don’t have to be peeled. It’s up to you, and what you like to bite into. Same goes for many recipes using potatoes.
3 meaty peppers, red or yellow or green
16 to 20 basil leaves
2 tbs. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
Salt
2 tbs. butter
2/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1 pound of pasta of a tubular type, like penne, ziti or rigatoni
Wash the peppers in cold water. Cut them lengthwise along their crevices. Scoop away the seeds and pulpy core and peel them, Cut into strips about ½ inch broad, then cut the strips in two.
Rinse the basil leaves in cold water and pat them dry. Tear the larger leaves by hand into smaller pieces.
Choose a sauté pan than can accommodate all the peppers with crowding them. Put in the olive oil and garlic and turn the heat to medium high. Cook and stir the garlic until it becomes colored a light nut brown, then remove and discard it.
Add the peppers to the pan and cook on medium high for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. The peppers are done when they are tender, but not mushy. Salt and take off the heat.
AT THIS POINT YOU CAN STOP AND FINISH THE DISH LATER ON IF YOU LIKE
Reheat the peppers when you’re ready to toss the pasta.
Cook the pasta
Melt the butter in a small saucepan at low heat until it is runny, not sizzling.
Toss the cooked drained pasta with the peppers and add the melted butter, the grated Parmesan, and the basil and toss thoroughly once more. Serve at once.
You may of noticed an abundance of tomatoes in you boxes and also noted the booth is over flowing with them. We were wondering what in the world we’d do with all of them and found this recipe, also by Marcella Hazan. We froze this for future use.
I’ll work on how to cook up the zillion onions we’ve gotten, soon. Maybe you can convince your children that they are really apples.