“Shall we have pasta for lunch/ dinner?” is a question that my daughter loves to hear. She likes pasta as much as she does pizza, and it would be a tough decision for her make a choice between the two. For me, cooking pasta usually means a filling and satisfying one-dish meal without having to spend too much time in the kitchen.
Last week, my husband was away on work so it was just the two of us at home. It has been getting pretty warm here and the last thing I wanted to do was spend time in the kitchen. But we were both feeling quite hungry and Akshaya wanted pasta.
Right at the top of vegetable bin in my fridge, were some red bell peppers (capsicum) which I needed to use up as we would be away on a short vacation later in the week. We were not in the mood for anything heavy or with cheese in it, so I came up with this slightly different sauce to serve with the pasta.
Penne with Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce (V)
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 1 red pepper big (capsicum)
- 2 tomatoes big
- 1 onion big , sliced
- 1 tsp olive oil + 1 tbsps
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes (or to taste)
- 2 to 3 tbsps walnuts broken
- 1 tbsp honey
- to taste salt
Instructions
- Cook the penne in adequately salted water till done "al dente". Drain, rinse in cold water and drain. Add 1 tsp oil and mix well till the pasta is well coated. This will keep the penne from sticking. Keep aside.
- To make the sauce : Lightly brush the bell pepper (capsicum) with oil and roast/ grill till the outer skin is well blistered. Rub off or peel the skin and chop the bell pepper into pieces. Similarly roast/ grill the tomatoes, peel them and chop them up.
- Heat 1 tsp oil and sautxe9 the onions till soft and light brown. Allow to cool a little bit. Now puree the chopped bell pepper, the tomato, the caramelized onions and the walnuts.
- Heat the 1 tbsp of olive oil; add the garlic paste and sautxe9 a couple of times. Add the puree, chilli flakes and salt and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat, adding a bit of water to adjust the sauce to required consistency. Add the honey and the herbs. Cook for another minute and take the sauce off the heat.
- Serve warm over penne (garnishing with cheese if preferred) with some salad and/ or fruit on the side.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
Looks delicious. Am sure the sauce was great. better get working on the t&t…
Looks yummy, i love pastas, have never used walnuts in pasta sause, should try once, thanks for posting it…
As your daughter,I too am a serious pasta fan..and I also adore red peppers!Love the sauce you`ve prepared..using walnuts!How creative..makes me think of a vegetarian bolognese!Think I`ll try it even today!Enjoy your trip..! 🙂
Red bell peppers & pasta rock…great sauce Aparna!Have a good trip. Where you off to?
Have fun on your vacation!
Have a fun trip!
Pasta looks yum. Enjoy your vacation. I will post for you before April ends, trying to catch up with all of the events! 😀
Aparna the pasta looks wonderful. It’s so simple yet so fulfilling at the same time!
Lovely pasta aparna…Enjoy your vacation!!Imagine every1 wants to come to ur place for vacation,but you are running away from your place for vacation!!
Am for anything without cheese … love the look of the sauce. :-)Enjoy your break. 🙂
Throw in some bread into that sauce and you have an exotic Spanish sauce 😉 – Romesco!But I love red peppers and this sauce is perfect for A who loves Pasta as much as Akshaya if not more!
Love the roasted pepper sauce with pasta..yumm. Have a wonderful trip..
Err.hmm.. the Nandini is me, N!
Love tomato based sauces and add red pepper to that, it becomes divine.. Your pasta dish looks yum..
The pasta sauce looks rich n creamy with the nuts. have a great vacation.
mmm..nice sauce..especially loved the honey in it. Have a great vacation!
I made once with roasted bell pepper from Indira’s blog, was tasted so good. Love this sauce!
That sounds like an utterly flavorful and delicious sauce. And that color’s to die for.
Just the kind I would make for my daughter too when I dont feel like cooking. I made something for T&T but too bad I could not take any photos and kind of goofed off.
Hi Aparna,LOL…at pratibha’s comment but it’s so true ;)neways…Thanks so much for a easy pasta sauce recipe(all the ingredients are within my reach :)) the dish looks delicious and bright!Have a great vacation!TC
I made something like that today…its delicious Aparna. Have a fun break!
The sauce looks simple and yummy..I love love love this one..Will surely give this a try 🙂
i am not much of a past afan but this recipe of roasted bell pepper sauce is something i would definately like to try 🙂
I know that u r on a vacation..once you r back plz chk my blog dear, something is waiting for you!!
Lovely picture. I usually make my pasta without cheese and this is my all time favorite sauce.
Same here, both me and my son love pastas, but not my husband. Like your version.Have a great vacationa and come back soon.
Looking good , great pictures
Can’t wait to get my hands on the first tomatoes of the summer. Yum!
Thanks again to all of you. We had been to Mumbai for a short break and are back to our respective routines now. :)Prathibha, we have to go somewhere don’t we? :DThanks for that tip, Nandini. For me, it can’t get better (ok it can) than pasta and bread! :)That’s ok, Srimathi. Maybe you can make something else?Thanks Prathibha for passing on the award to me.