September is here and, for many in the northern hemisphere, the return to work this means autumn is already here. And here in US, last Monday was Labor Day, which. marks the unofficial end of summer.
And yet foodwise September is a transitional, you might even say schizophrenic, month. We are beginning to see autumn produce appear in the markets, but summer vegetables—eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers—are still very much around. And with temperatures well into the 30sC/90sF this past week, it definitely still feels like summer. Definitely not the kind of weather than makes you want to break out the pumpkin spice.
What I am in the mood for is a simple dish of pasta with seasonal vegetables, quickly prepared but full of flavor. And that’s just what this week’s recipe for pasta ai peperoni, Pasta with Bell Peppers, delivers. This recipe is a riff off the classic antipasto of roasted peppers with garlic and anchovy, reimagined as a quick and easy dressing for pasta.
To make things even easier, I usually don’t bother with roasting and just briefly sauté my peppers in garlic and oil until tender, then flavor them with minced parsley, anchovies and capers. That makes it really quick, the kind of pasta dish you can whip up in less than 30 minutes—the time it takes for the pasta water to boil and the pasta to cook.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 500g (1 lb) penne or other pasta of your choice
- 4-5 bell peppers, trimmed and sliced into strips
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- A few parsley sprigs, stems removed and finely minced
- 2-3 anchovy fillets*
- A handful of capers, rinsed
- Olive oil
- Salt
Directions
In a large skillet or sauté pan, gently sauté the garlic and parsley stems very garlic in abundant olive oil until the garlic is just beginning to brown. Discard the garlic and stems.
Add the sliced bell pepper and a good pinch of salt, turn them in the oil. Cover and let the peppers simmer for about 10 minutes, until nearly tender, stirring from time to time.
Uncover and add the minced parsley, along with the capers and anchovy fillets. Continue simmering uncovered for another minute or two. The mixture should glisten beautifully. If not, add a bit more olive oil. Turn off the heat if need be until the pasta is done.
In the meantime, you cook the penne (or other pasta of your choice) in well salted water until al dente.
Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan along with a ladleful of the pasta water and toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce and any excess water has evaporated.
Serve immediately.
Notes
Pasta ai peperoni is an easy going dish. You can use any variety or color of pepper you like for your pasta ai peperoni. That said, red bell peppers, or a combination or red and yellow/orange ones as pictured here, would be typical. Red bell peppers in particular provide both sweet flavor and a lovely visual contrast with the pasta. Yellow peppers alone produce a perfectly delicious but rather monotone dish. Green peppers are more economical, but their slightly bitter flavor might not be to everyone’s taste.
You could, of course, use roasted peppers for this dish. It’s an especially good option if you’re bothered by pepper skins. It also gives the peppers a more intense, slightly smoky flavor, bringing the dish closer to the flavor of the antipasto that inspired it. But that does means a few more steps that add perhaps 20 minutes to your prep time.
The typical pasta, as mentioned, is penne but, again this is an easy going dish. You could certainly opt for another short tubular pasta such as ziti, casarecce, gemelli or rigatoni—or even a long one like spaghetti or linguine if you prefer. If you do opt for a long pasta, I’d suggest then slicing the peppers into very thin strips. Speaking of which, here’s a little cook’s trick: try to roughly match the width and (if you’re suing a short pasta) length of the pepper strips to the width of the pasta. Not strictly necessary, of course, and no need for precision, but this makes the dish prettier to look at but also easier to eat.
Variations
Many, perhaps most, versions of pasta ai peperoni are ‘red’, or in rosso as Italians say, meaning they include tomato. Sometimes it’s just a bit, in other recipes, such as the one proposed by Francesconi, quite a lot. You add the tomato after the peppers have been simmering for a few minutes and almost tender, then continue simmering for perhaps another 5-10 minutes, until the peppers are fully tender and the tomatoes have reduced. (Personally, I don’t care for the combination of peppers and tomatoes, as shocking as that may be, but it’s a classic combination in Italian cookery.)
In another common version of pasta ai peperoni, you sauté onions along with the peppers instead of starting with the garlic, as if you were making a peperonata. The onions lend an appealing sweetness to the dish. I alternate between this version and the one above, depending on my mood.
If you’d like to add some protein to your pasta, then some canned tuna would go well. Add the the tuna, broken up into chunks, at the very end of simmering your sauce or simply toss it along with the pasta and sauce.
* If you’re vegan, you can easily veganism pasta ai peperoni simply by omitting the anchovies.
Although you will see some recipes for pasta ai peperoni with grated cheese, to my mind, it’s neither necessary nor wanted. Ditto for peperoncini (hot red peppers). In both cases, of course, no one’s going to stop you ….
And finally, there’s a much more ‘refined’ pasta and peppers dish. It’s called pasta alla crema di peperoni, or pasta with a creamy bell pepper purée, and we featured it back in 2020. It’s a dish that uses not only peppers but cream to really lean into the sweetness. A bit more involved, I save that dish for company or a special occasion.
Pasta ai peperoni
Ingredients
- 500g (1 lb) penne or other pasta of your choice
- 4-5 bell peppers trimmed and sliced into strips
- 1-2 cloves garlic peeled and slightly crushed
- a few parsley sprigs stems removed and finely minced
- 3-4 anchovy fillets
- a handful of capers, rinsed
- olive oil
- salt
Instructions
- In a large skillet or sauté pan, sauté the garlic very garlic in abundant olive oil until it is just beginning to brown. Discard the garlic.
- Add the sliced bell pepper and a good pinch of salt, turn them in the oil. Cover and let the peppers simmer for about 10 minutes, until nearly tender, stirring from time to time.
- Uncover and add the parsley, along with the capers and anchovy fillets. Continue simmering uncovered for another minute or two. The mixture should glisten beautifully. If not, add a bit more olive oil. Turn off the heat if need be until the pasta is done.
- In the meantime, you will have cooked the penne (or other pasta of your choice) in well salted water until very al dente.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan along with a ladleful of the pasta water and toss until the pasta is well coated with the sauce and any excess water has evaporated.
- Serve immediately.
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34 Comments on “Pasta ai peperoni (Pasta and Peppers)”
Brilliant recipe, and just so beautiful, too. I adore any type of peppers and would just love this simple dish. 🙂
Thanks!
First Frost in SC was November 3 where I am at.
Used the Hungarian half-hot peppers I still had. Like 50 peppers the next morning, some yellow some red as I haven’t been keeping up.
Used them in this type of recipe. They are just slightly picante so not overpowering. Added two tablespoons of golden raisins, some olives and half a pint of cherry tomato.
Also some canned tuna.
Falls into my top ten of all recipes for my twosome.
Sounds delicious, Randal!
Pasta with Bell Peppers sounds like a delightful way to savor the transitional flavors of September. It’s great to make use of the lingering summer vegetables while incorporating some heartier elements that hint at the coming autumn. This dish appears to strike a perfect balance between simplicity and flavor, a true Italian cuisine quality.
Thanks Raymund!
I’m not a pasta eater but I do love capsicums esp. roasted ones! And anchovies always add a great bit of zing. The sauce sounds delicious Frank.
Thanks, Sherry!
I feel exactly the same – while I’m almost ready for sweet potatoes and pumpkins, the summer produce is still great so why rush?! And in fact, I personally consider vegetables like eggplant and peppers to be late summer/early fall produce. So yay to this simple yet delicious pasta!
Thanks, Ben! Why rush indeed…
I’m definite going to be trying this dish, it sounds great.
Thanks, Karen. Hope you like it!
This sounds like a delicious meal, Frank! I hear ya on the temperatures – it’s been hot here in NC, but it looks like a break is coming this week. Pasta is always a popular dinner option around here…no matter the time of year!
I was hoping for a break this week but it’s still pretty hot around here. Perhaps next week..
What a vibrant dish and I am certain it is bursting with flavour. Whenever red/orange/yellow peppers are on sale, I buy a bunch and roast them on the Big Green Egg and freeze them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to be put into a ziplock bag for future use. It’s so easy to pull a few out of the bag and they defrost so quickly. I’ll definitely have to give this recipe a try.
Nice way to always have roasted peppers on hand, Eva!
I really like the simplicity of this pasta dish. Fresh peppers, anchovies, capers, penne pasta, and good olive oil. You can’t beat it!
So true! Thanks for stopping by, Velva. 🙂
We love summer pasta dishes and bell pepper as well. I also love the anchovies and capers. So this works for me.
That’s great, Ron. Do hope you give it a try!
This is one of my favourite quick pasta dishes. I also prefer it senza tomatoes. Sometimes I peel the peppers with a swivel blade vegetable peeler. That’s if I can be bothered!
Ah yes, well, I’ll peel some vegetables but with peppers I can never be bothered. Call me lazy…
Looks like a simple and delicious evening meal that we would enjoy. Like you we’re still in a heat wave here Frank, but I know unfortunately those days will be turning soon.
Actually I’m ready for cooler weather, Neil! Anyway, it seems things will cool down this coming week.
Frank – every time I visit you I leave with a smile and head for the kitchen ! As now ! Oh, this is secondo for me and I just love the capers and anchovies . . . thank you and may the autumn pan out just the way you like it . . .
You’re too kind, Eha!
Simply beautiful. I would want to add onions, but that’s just me.
No, not just you. As mentioned in the notes, it’s a very common and delicious variation and one I like, too. I alternate between onions and garlic depending on what’s the pantry and well, what I’m in the mood for.
Sounds fantastic — anything that uses anchovies has my vote. I made a pasta with peppers and mascarpone once — I think from Cucina Italiana or perhaps Giallo Zafferano… it was very good and different. I’ll be trying yours soon. Thanks, Frank.
Ah, another anchovy lover, I see! Hope you like this version of pasta and peppers, I think it’s a winner.
Perfect simple Italian food! I’ll make this tonight – I’ve got two cloured peppers in the fridge that want to be used up. No fall weather here – it’s 32º C, but feels like 37º with the humidity!
So we’re in the same boat weather-wise… Enjoy the dish!
Such a simple yet beautiful and delicious pasta meal!
Thanks Angie!