No-cook pepper sauce
This is a very quick pasta sauce which requires no cooking. I made it up one night for dinner and noted it down on a piece of paper -- this was before I had LiveJournal... easier to find here :-)
It would probably work pretty much with any kind of pasta, though I tend to use penne or fusilli.
Quantities for 2 servings
1/2 red (sweet/bell) pepper
5 salted capers
1 spring onion/scallion
1 ts lemon juice
2 ts extra virgin olive oil
fresh parsley
salt to taste
1 ts brandy (optional)
1. Put pepper, capers and spring onion in a blender and buzz briefly. It shouldn't be a puree, just finely chopped. (Of course, you can also do this with a knife or mezzaluna -- the blender is just faster)
2. Put the chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the lemon, salt, oil and chopped parsley -- and the brandy if you like. (Since it's not going to be cooked, the alcohol isn't going to be burned off in this recipe.) Mix well. Leave to blend for a while before adding to pasta.
Possible variations: Fresh basil should work well instead of parsley. A few green olives could be added to the peppers and stuff in the blender. (I haven't actually tried these variations, they just sprang to mind as I was writing...)
It would probably work pretty much with any kind of pasta, though I tend to use penne or fusilli.
Quantities for 2 servings
1/2 red (sweet/bell) pepper
5 salted capers
1 spring onion/scallion
1 ts lemon juice
2 ts extra virgin olive oil
fresh parsley
salt to taste
1 ts brandy (optional)
1. Put pepper, capers and spring onion in a blender and buzz briefly. It shouldn't be a puree, just finely chopped. (Of course, you can also do this with a knife or mezzaluna -- the blender is just faster)
2. Put the chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the lemon, salt, oil and chopped parsley -- and the brandy if you like. (Since it's not going to be cooked, the alcohol isn't going to be burned off in this recipe.) Mix well. Leave to blend for a while before adding to pasta.
Possible variations: Fresh basil should work well instead of parsley. A few green olives could be added to the peppers and stuff in the blender. (I haven't actually tried these variations, they just sprang to mind as I was writing...)