Rigatoni with Roasted Peppers and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Late summer has some of the sweetest tomatoes and peppers don’t you think. By the time September rolls around when early morning and nights have starting to cool I get excited about making rustic pastas, cozy soups, and beautiful fiery curries. This is one such pasta that makes use of all the late bounties arriving or should I say finishing the summer.

Each year by this time I get a good harvest of tomatoes and I love to sun or oven dry them. However this year I was traveling in the spring and didn’t do any planting. So I have to resort to store-bought. This is one of our favorite pasta meals. It’s loaded with vegetables , rustic and very satisfying. Use jarred red peppers and sun dried tomatoes if you want to cut on the cooking time and ease of putting the meal together quickly. Use pasta like rigatoni, bucatini or penne so the sauce can hide in the crevices to maximize the flavors.

Ingredients

• 3-4 red peppers roasted homemade or jarred
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 medium Fennel chopped
• 1 medium zucchini finely chopped
• 1 medium or carrot finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend ( oregano, thyme, Rosemary)
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 -1 teaspoon Chile flakes or as needed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1-28 oz can San marzano or other plum tomatoes whole in sauce
• 1/4 cup sundried tomato
• parmesan cheese or vegan Parmesan to sprinkle
• HAndful of Basil leaves torn
• 8 oz wholewheat rigatoni

Direction

1. In a large pot warm olive oil. Add chopped onion, fennel, zucchini, carrot and sauté for 8-10 minutes on medium heat till soft.
2. Add the garlic, chile flakes and herbs and sauté further. Now add the tomatoes, with the back of a spoon break the tomatoes and cook the sauce for 18-20 minutes till jammy.
3. In a small food processsor purée sundried tomatoes and roasted red peppers till smooth.
4. Add to the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhole bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package. Toss with the sauce as neede and serve with Parmesan cheese and torn basil.
6. The extra sauce freezes very well.