Simply Faster Pasta!

Pasta, Peperone & Pomodorini

Pasta with Sweet Pepper & Cherry Tomatoes

You can't go far wrong with a nice plate of pasta to end a hard day at work- but you CAN go to way too much trouble preparing it!

Yes, of course, I know you all know that you can do a simple "aglio e olio" or "cacio e pepe"- and I know they are both great dishes- but you can also do this!

There is no need to make complicated or time-consuming sauces, no need to make anything heavy or unhealthy- you can keep things very, very simple and still make something wonderful... as you can see right here!

For this so-beautiful and delicious pasta dish you will need, for 1-2 servings, 1 sweet red pepper, 1 onion, 5-6 cherry tomatoes, fresh parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil. Oh, and a pinch of sugar! And cheese for grating- Parmesan, Grana Padano, Pecorino, salted Ricotta- whatever you prefer. But otherwise my friends- it was as simple as that!

This is not a tomato sauce- the cherry tomatoes are there mostly to add a little juiciness to the pepper- which is the star of the show. The flavor is based on that of a simple "peperonata", a dish consisting of nothing but fried peppers with a sprinkle of toasted breadcrumbs and parsley at the end. It's the sweetness of the peppers which is so nice and I didn't want to spoil that by adding other, dominant flavors... and so- I didn't!

Start boiling your pasta water and at the same time, start frying the pepper, onion and parsley stalks, finely chopped, in just a little olive oil. 3-4 minutes should do the trick, until the onion is translucent and just beginning to brown.

Next, pop your pasta in the saucepan and add your cherry tomatoes to the frying pan! Give them each 4-5 minutes of cooking and stirring. Season the pasta water of course and also the tomato, peppers and onion. Once the tomatoes have begun to disintegrate, add a good pinch of sugar- this will heighten the sweetness of the pepper and the tomatoes.

Add the pasta into the frying pan after just 4-5 minutes or so along with plenty of the water it has cooked in and continue cooking and stirring together for the next 5 minutes or so, adding a little more water every now and then as necessary.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of finely chopped parsley- and spoon all of that diced pepper and tomato goodness on top... grate with cheese , grind with pepper... and serve immediately!

Stir everything through, mix everything well... and enjoy this sweet and delicious dish which was almost easier to make than it would have been to heat-up a store bought sauce... heavens forbid!

And why would you want to do such a thing, when making something fresh can be so quick and easy?!?

Grab a spoon, grab a fork- and prepare your taste buds for a fun time!