Jeanne's Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

I was going to write about buckwheat today, but that's going to have to wait. Instead, I want to share with you this simple, fantastic recipe that Jeanne made. (She also made the pasta from scratch, but that's another entry.)

She is back in town this week (from Taipei) and pointed out that I had never posted our cooking fest which we held a couple of months ago. It was a fun, ambitious day of cooking together: Jeanne, her sister, Nancy, Chris S. and myself. Well, Jeanne and Chris did most of the cooking. I took photos. There's lots more to post: gnocchi with roasted tomatoes, a lesson in how to properly make pasta, and Chris's awesome triple chocolate dessert.

So, yes, I am remiss in posting the photos and recipes but it was overwhelming to sort through them all. But today, with her prodding, I looked through them and my mouth started watering when I saw the red pepper sauce. So, I said to myself, "I gotta post this!"

We are both big fans of Craig Claiborne, so I pleasantly surprised that she got her recipe from him. (She learned to cook from her Italian grandma so I thought it was from her.) And he apparently got it from Ed Giobbi, who the heck is that? Am I supposed to know??? But I love the fact that great recipes get passed around. Even by Craig.

Ed Giobbi's Sweet Red Pepper Sauce for pasta
from Craig Claiborne's NYTimes Cookbook -- the white one

4 servings

2 very red, unblemished sweet red peppers, about 1/2 pound
2 T. olive oil
2 cups coarsely chopped onions
2 t. minced garlic
1/2 t. hot red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 chopped basil
1 pound cooked pasta
grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the peppers lengthwise in half. Scrape away and discard the stems, veins and seeds. Chop the peppers coarsely. There should be about 2 cups.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the peppers. Cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, 2 minutes longer. Add the stock, salt and pepper. Cover and cook 15 minutes.

Ladle the sauce into the container of a food processor and blend thoroughly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil. cook about 2 minutes and stir in the basil. Serve with 1 pound pasta cooked to the desired degree of doneness. Serve the cheese on the side.