Red pepper and almond sauce for pasta

Taken from "VEG: simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking" by Catherine Mason (Pauntley Press, 2001, ISBN: 0-9534879-2-8, price £12.99)
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This sauce is good with basic dry or fresh pasta, preferably one of the shapes such as spirals or shells. Due to its chunky texture it is less successful with noodles or spaghetti, as it is difficult to distribute evenly throughout the strands. It uses raw eggs, rather in the spirit of a Carbonara sauce, so be sure they are organic, free range and extremely fresh, and in the light of salmonella scares it probably should not be fed to the frail.

  • 3 medium red peppers
  • 2 onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 rounded tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
  • a little grated nutmeg
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 310 g (11 oz) dry or 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fresh pasta spirals
  • 110 g (4 oz) blanched almonds, roasted
  • fresh Parmesan cheese to serve, grated

Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F gas 7), adjust for fan ovens).

Wash, de-seed and dice the peppers into 2 cm (1 inch) squares. Coat the peppers, onion and garlic with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and place in a shallow baking dish in a single layer. Roast, uncovered, in the oven for 30-35 minutes until tender, turning them over about half way through the cooking time.

Roast blanched almonds for about 5 minutes at this temperature. Much longer and they may burn.

Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl with the finely chopped parsley, a generous grating of nutmeg and some salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water, timing it to be ready when the peppers finish roasting, drain well and return it to the pan in which it was cooked.

Stir the roasted vegetables and almonds into the drained, cooked pasta, then the eggs and a small handful of grated Parmesan. Serve in warm bowls and top each serving with extra Parmesan.

SERVES 4

Recipe copyright © 2001 Catherine Mason | other sample recipes