Kitchen Garden Journal

• 1 lb penne pasta
• 5-6 brightly colored sweet peppers
• Olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 oz sweet Italian sausage meat
• 1 pint tomato puree
• Salt & pepper ½ cup heavy cream
• Freshly torn basil leaves

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove stems and seeds from peppers and cut into bite sized pieces. Toss with a liberal amount of olive oil. Roast peppers for 1 hour on a large baking sheet, stirring from time to time, until limp and blistered. Set aside. Heat the pasta water. Brown the sausage meat in a little olive oil in a wide heavy skillet. (We like to use Pekarski’s sausage from their family smokehouse in S. Deerfield. They use plenty of fat and a nice amount of fennel seed in their mix.) If you have links, squeeze the filling out of the casings. When the meat is nice and brown, add the finely minced garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and roasted peppers. Cook the sauce for 10 minutes or so to meld the flavors (just long enough for your pasta to cook).  Remove sauce from the heat and stir in the cream and basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (For a spicy version, add a few shakes of pepper flakes when you add the garlic.) Combine with the pasta and serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Even better the next day.

Comment (0)

Potatoes and peppers are a really amazing combination. When I was working on an olive farm in Italy, the grandmother would heat up a big pot of their oil (the best and freshest I've ever had) and fry potatoes in it. Then she would fry whole peppers in the same oil and when they were cooked, slip the skins off. Then she would put everything in a pan together and let it bubble away on the stove so the flavors melded together. This version is a simpler preparation that gives similar delicious results.

• 2 lbs potatoes
• 2 lbs sweet peppers
• 1 lb or less plum tomatoes
• 1-3 heads garlic
• ½ cup Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

This dish takes advantage of all the flavors of summer.  Cut potatoes into bite sized wedges for roasting.  Cut the peppers into quarters or wide strips (you want them in fairly large pieces).  Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters.  Peel the garlic cloves and leave whole.  Put everything into a large mixing bowl and start pouring on the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix well and spread it all out in a single layer of a baking sheet or two.  Bake in a very hot 450° oven for 45 minutes to an hour, scraping and turning every so often, until the potatoes are golden and tender and the peppers and tomatoes have dissolved into a concentrated, smoky tasting sauce and everything is floating in oil.  You could add some fresh rosemary to this dish if you wanted, to no ill effect.

Comment (0)

• 3 sweet peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 sprigs parsley, chopped
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• 6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper

Sauté the garlic and onion in oil until soft. Add the peppers and cook on medium heat until softened. Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 30 minutes, being careful not to burn.

Serve with pasta or atop toasted bread as crostini. It’s also delicious as a side dish for meat.

Comment (0)

• 2 lbs potatoes
• 2 lbs sweet peppers
• 1 lb or less plum tomatoes
• 1-3 heads garlic
• ½ cup Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper

This is a really simple dish that takes advantage of all the flavors of summer.  Cut potatoes into bite sized wedges for roasting.  Cut the peppers into quarters or wide strips (you want them in fairly large pieces).  Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters.  Peel the garlic cloves and leave whole.  Put everything into a large mixing bowl and start pouring on the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix well and spread it all out in a single layer of a baking sheet or two.  Bake in a very hot 450° oven for 45 minutes to an hour, scraping and turning every so often, until the potatoes are golden and tender and the peppers and tomatoes have dissolved into a concentrated, smoky tasting sauce and everything is floating in oil.  You could add some fresh rosemary to this dish if you wanted, to no ill effect.

Comment (0)