Roasted Red Pepper Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Charred red peppers, fennel, carrot, and onion create a silky vegetable sauce enriched with tomato, stock, and fennel seeds. Partially blended for texture, finished with fresh basil and strips of roasted pepper. Toss with egg pasta for a vibrant, vegetable-forward meal.
Ingredients
- 2 red peppers, quartered and deseeded
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 fennel bulb, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 large carrot, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- ¼ tsp crushed chillies
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 lb canned chopped tomatoes
- 2 ½ cups vegetable stock
- 1 tsp superfine sugar
- basil, leaves shredded(optional)
- 1 lb fresh egg pasta, cookeddried pasta1:1pasta_formeggs-free
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Instructions
- 1
Heat the grill. Place peppers skin-side up under the grill for 10 minutes or until beginning to char.
- 2
Transfer peppers to a bowl, cover and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and cut the flesh into strips.
- 3
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Cook the fennel, onion and carrot for 8-10 minutes until softened.
- 4
Stir in the garlic, crushed chillies, fennel seeds and tomato purée. Cook for 2 minutes.
- 5
Add the canned tomatoes, stock and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes until the vegetables are completely soft.
- 6
Remove a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce and set aside. Blend the remaining sauce in the saucepan until almost smooth using a stick blender.
- 7
Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the reserved sauce, shredded basil and roasted pepper strips.
- 8
Serve with the cooked fresh egg pasta.
Tips
Reserve sauce before blending to add body and texture to the final dish.
Use a stick blender for controlled blending—blend just until almost smooth to maintain some vegetable texture.
Good to Know
Sauce keeps refrigerated up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months.
Prepare sauce completely and refrigerate or freeze; reheat gently before serving with freshly cooked pasta.
Toss sauce with warm cooked pasta. Garnish with additional fresh basil if desired.
Common Mistakes
Do not skip cooling the peppers before peeling—rushing risks burns.
Do not over-blend—reserve sauce spoonfuls first to prevent a completely smooth, one-note texture.
Do not simmer covered—uncovered simmering allows proper reduction and flavor concentration.
Substitutions
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