Spaghetti with Peppers, Olives & Tomatoes

 

This  is a beautiful supper dish with lovely fresh flavours and colours.  I love recipes like this.  Its simple, easy and uses things I normally have in my kitchen  . . .

 

Fresh bell peppers . . . I used golden yellow peppers.  I like to peel the skin from them as I am not overly fond of cooked pepper skins, which can oftimes be somewhat bitter.  They are not that hard to peel.  I have a soft skin vegetable peeler which makes it very easy. 

 

They are really great for peeling things like pepper and tomatoes. I like to pick peppers with straight sides for this dish.  They cut and peel much easier than overly rounded ones.

  

As well as the peppers there is a large red onion, cut into half moons. The peppers and onions are cooked in a skillet together, until the edges begin to caramelize, at which time you add  garlic and a bit of dry white wine. (I used water with a pinch of sugar as we don't do alcohol)  You let this bubble up while you scrape up any sticky bits in the skillet.

 

Next you add some chopped black olives and capers.  Black olives and capers go very well with all of the other ingredients . . . both are kind of salty and the capers are a bit tangy as well . . .

 

Of course your pasta is cooking while you are doing all of this right?  A scoop of the pasta water is added to the sauce along with some cherry tomatoes . . . and flat leaf parsley . . .

 

both of which are only briefly cooked . . .  so that when you are eating the finished dish those cherry tomatoes pop in your mouth with a beautiful burst of flavour!  Yum!

 

There is a temptation to use more parsley than you need to . . .  don't.  Trust me on this. None of the flavours in the dish should overpower any of the other flavours. Flat leaf parsley can sometimes be really strong in flavour, so taste it and then judge accordingly.

I only use whole wheat pasta these days.  I really like it.  It has a subtle nutty flavour and really doesn't look all that different than regular pasta.  But, if whole wheat pasta doesn't float your boat, then use regular pasta, no problemo.

 

Altogether this is a really delicious dish.  I would recommend serving it with some crusty bread if you aren't watching the carbs, and maybe some soft goats cheese on the side.  Yum yum!!

 

*Spaghetti with Peppers, Olives & Tomatoes*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

I like to peel the peppers for this recipe. It might seem a bit fiddly, but its worth it to not have unpleasant bits of pepper skins rolling around in your mouth. If you use flat sides peppers, this is easy to do with one of those new peelers which are built specifically for peeling soft skinned vegetables.  This really is delicious.  Vegetarian and Vegan. 

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

340g dry spaghetti (3/4 pound, I like whole wheat)

2 TBS olive oil

4 to 5 yellow peppers, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2 inch strips

1 large red onion, peeled, halved and sliced into thin half moons

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

120ml dry white wine (1/2 cup)

85g of chopped black olives (1/2 cup)

(I like the dry cured ones)

3 TBS baby capers, rinsed and patted dry

15g flat leaf parsley, chopped (2/3 cup)

300g cherry tomatoes (2 cups)

 

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.  Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions.


Cook the sauce while the pasta is cooking. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the peppers and onions. Cook over high heat, tossing them with a wooden spoon to sear the edges, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the wine, allowing it to bubble up, scraping up any pan juices. Lower the heat to medium ad add the olives, capers, half of the parsley and a bit of water from the cooking pasta.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for a minute, then turn off the heat and set aside. 


Drain the pasta, then toss with a bit of olive oil. Divide amongst 4 heated serving bowls.  Spoon some of the pepper mixture over heat.  Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.

 

I am loving this new emphasis I am making  in my diet on plant based foods.  Todd's not so sure, lol, but you shouldn't be surprised.  He's a WW2 baby and he likes his meat.  Its okay, I made him a cottage pie which he enjoyed very much.  We were both happy.  Its okay, he knows I won't always be doing this for him. Bon Appetit!