Long time no see! I was ambitious in starting this blog, hoping I would fill it with weekly recipes, and reality has other plans. WHATEVERRRRR
Anyhoo, this meal comes to you by way of homesickness. After an amazing 12-day vacation in Japan, I woke up this morning jet-lagged and craving something simple and familiar. These approximate measurements appeared out of my half-asleep mind in a hungry reflex, so feel free to adjust them to taste. This spaghetti should taste like simple, delicious home comfort.
On the side of my spaghetti, I added a simple salad of arugula, strawberries, walnuts, and balsamic. But y’all do you.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 2 red bell peppers, quartered and seeded
- 1 small package grape tomatoes, cut into halves (probs about 1 1/2-2 cups when it’s all said and done)
- A dash of olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp rosemary
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Angel hair pasta
- 2-3 leaves fresh basil, torn into pieces
Instructions
- Get your oven ready to broil at 500°. Lay your bell pepper cuts inside-down on a baking sheet and toss in the oven. We’ll pull these out when their skin is crisp and bubbling on top (or a little charred, if you prefer that flavor). Since it super varies from pepper to pepper, just keep an eye on these guys ’til they look ready to go.
- Heat your olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the cherry tomatoes and all the herbs, salt, and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until sizzling and slightly reduced, then turn the heat to low and leave on a simmer.
- When the bell peppers are done, pull them from the oven and put them in a blender or food processor. Blend until they look nice and saucy, and add the pepper puree to the pan with the tomatoes, stirring well.
- Add the juice of the lemon to the sauce, and all the garlic. Stir thoroughly and let simmer, uncovered, while you cook up your pasta. Once the sauce has simmered 3-4 minutes, give it a taste to see if it needs anything, and add salt or oregano as needed.
- While the sauce simmers, heat a pot of salted water over high heat and cook your pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Once it’s done and your sauce is as you like it, add the pasta to the sauce, turn off the heat, and cover for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot, topped with the shredded basil leaves. Bone apple tea!
Brebba Cooks 