A pasta dish that screams ‘SUMMER’! Pasta with Fried Peppers is refreshingly light without skimping on the flavors — sweet, salty, and earthy. Simply delicious!
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Not something that you would typically see in a pasta dish, I agree.
The key is to make sure that you have cooked the peppers enough for their sweetness to come out. Contrast that with the earthiness and saltiness from the olives and capers – and voila!
Serve it as a side dish for grilled meat or as a meal on its own!
WHAT YOU NEED TO PREPARE FRIED PEPPERS PASTA
WHAT KIND OF PEPPERS TO USE?
Bell peppers.
Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers — any or a combination of these three, just not the green ones. The flavor of the green ones is too strong, even when fried, so skip it.
HOW TO CUT BELL PEPPERS FOR PASTA?
Julienne them.
It does not have to be perfect, but if you can cut them thinner than the type of pasta that you are using, you’re good to go.
HOW TO MAKE FRIED PEPPERS PASTA – Step by Step
Start by preparing the pasta as per cooking instruction in the package.
Use a medium or a large pan and heat olive oil.
Once the oil is ready, turn the heat up to medium-high and add the bell peppers. Saute for a few minutes, until you see some softening — no need to mix it continuously (photo 1).
Add garlic, salt and pepper, and peperoncino (photo 2).
Mix and adjust the heat to medium. Continue cooking until the peppers are almost done.
Add olives and capers (photo 3).
Mix, then add the cooked pasta and pour some pasta water (photo 4).
Continue mixing to make sure each pasta is appropriately coated, season if needed.
Serve, with some parsley, if preferred.
TOP TIPS FOR MAKING THIS BELL PEPPER PASTA RECIPE
- If you can, try to chop the bell peppers slightly thinner than the pasta. It makes it easier for the peppers to stick to the pasta when picking with a fork.
- Do not forget to rinse and drain both the olives and the capers.
- Stick to green olives, the black ones are too mild in flavor, while kalamata are too salty. The green ones provide the perfect balance of saltiness and earthiness to the dish.
- If you can, use pasta that is NOT tubular (like spaghetti or bavette). Easier for the olive oil-based sauce to coat them, as well as they’re almost the same shape as the peppers.
IF YOU WANT MORE VEGETABLE RECIPES, THEN CHECK OUT MY OTHER POSTS –
OR PERHAPS YOU WANT TO GET MORE IDEAS FOR PASTA DISHES? THEN HEAD STRAIGHT TO MY PASTA COLLECTION!
Pasta with Fried Peppers
Ingredients
- 200 grams pasta
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large yellow bell peppers, julienned
- 2 large red bellow peppers, julienned
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced finely
- 2 tsp capers
- 8 pcs olives, sliced thinly
- dash of pepperoncino (chili flakes)
- salt and pepper, to season
- parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Start preparing pasta as per package instructions.
- Using a medium or a large pan, heat olive oil.
- Once olive oil is ready, add peppers and adjust heat to medium-high. Mix and saute peppers until slightly soft.
- Add garlic, salt and pepper, and peperoncino. Mix and adjust heat to medium.
- Continue cooking until the peppers are almost cooked.
- Add olives and capers. Mix to combine.
- Add cooked pasta. Add some pasta water and mix, making sure that the pasta is coated with the olive-oil based sauce.
- Take the pan off the heat. Garnish with some roughly chopped fresh parsley.
- Serve.
Notes
- Try to chop the peppers a bit thinner than the pasta, to make it easier for them to stick when picking with a fork.
- Do not use tubular types of pasta like penne or rigatoni. If you can, use strands or thin ribbons types like spaghetti and bavette (which is what I used in this recipe).
- Rinse and drain the olives and capers.
- Stick to green olives; they have the right amount of saltiness and earthiness that complements this dish.
- Do NOT throw the pasta water! At least set some aside; you will need it for finishing up the dish.
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