Jammy Pepper Pasta Salad



Any recipe that uses copious amounts of peppers and cooks them down to a jammy sauce always gets my vote. If you use peak season peppers, the jam you're left with is going to be redolent with citrus-y brightness from the peppers and sweetness that calls for acidity from vinegar to balance it out. The lavish amount of garlic in the sauce becomes sweet and garlic-y in the best possible way. Finished with tons of fresh herbs and sheep's milk ricotta salata at the end, you know you're in danger of trying to eat the whole pot yourself!
I'm not a big fan of pasta salads usually but when you add tons of produce, switch out the regular pasta to chickpea pasta to up the protein content, add semi-aged cheese to it, I'm all in. This was the first time I used a chickpea pasta (Explore Cuisine), and honestly I'm blown away by the texture. It is absolutely no different from regular whole wheat pasta that I normally use. The protein content is pretty high compared to regular pasta but unfortunately it is only a few grams less in carbs, which is a drawback. Definitely a good option though if you're looking for healthier pasta options, and your diet is gluten free.


The original recipe used a cup of olive oil and I think that's excessive. It can be easily made with half a cup of the oil, which is what I did. The walnuts/nuts at the end seem a little like gilding the lily. The pasta doesn't really need it so it's absolutely skippable. The main flavors come from peppers, vinegar, cheese and herbs....so if you're trying to cut back on calories, feel free to skip the nuts but don't skip anything else. This might be the pasta salad I take to potlucks/picnics in future because of how easy it is to make and how well it keeps.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:
8 tbsp olive oil
3 lb assorted peppers (could increase the amount to 4.5 lbs easily), seeded and sliced into 1 inch by 4 inch long pieces (I used a variety of bell peppers, wax peppers and sweet Italian frying peppers)
22 thyme sprigs, divided use
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and fat ones cut into thirds and skinny ones cut into twos
2.5 tsp sea salt, divided use
3 tsp sugar, divided use
1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp red or white wine vinegar, divided use
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
16 oz pasta, cooked according to package directions
1 thick bunch basil, leaves picked and coarsely torn if large
6 oz ricotta salata, cut into thin planks
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)


Procedure:
Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a large dutch oven (of capacity 6 to 8 quarts). Once th oil is hot and shimmering, add the peppers, 6thyme sprigs, garlic, 2 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp sugar. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the water is all absorbed and the peppers stars to get some color, about 12-15 minutes. Add 1/2 cup wine vinegar and reduce the heat to medium low and partially cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the peppers turn jammy, about 30-40 minutes. Mine took just about 30 minutes. In the meantime, toss the sliced red onions with the 3 tbsp wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp sea salt and 2 tsp sugar in the serving bowl and keep tossing every 10 minutes or so to give all the slices equal time in this vinegar bath. Cook the pasta while the peppers are cooking as well, Adrian and add to the red onions. Once the peppers are done, add the peppers along with every bit of the liquid/oil to the pasta bowl as well. Mix well and divide into 8 bowls. Divide and add torn basil leaves, leaves from thyme sprigs, ricotta salt and walnuts and toss again right before serving. The pasta can be enjoyed hot, cold or warm.


Comments

  1. With summer peppers galore, this definitely looks like a winning dish for this time of year. I love the big pieces of crunchy walnuts in it, too.

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