Recipe: Salsa di Peperoni

Recipe: Salsa di Peperoni

Spannocchia Cookbook

Loredana Betti's incredible meals were the highlight on our 2019 Tuscany Retreat, and The Spannocchia Cookbook allows us to create these simple, delicious, mostly vegetarian meals at home.  (After a trying week, you can see Bruce really enjoyed this this dish.) The sauce is great with wholewheat pasta too, or, if you don't eat pasta, on roasted vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 bell peppers, red or yellow

• 1 small onion

• 3 tbsp butter

• 3 tbsp tomato puree

• 3 tbsp heavy cream

• salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

Put the whole bell peppers in the oven for around 20-25 min, or until blackened.  You can turn them once or twice during that time.  Take out of the oven and carefully peel off the outer skin and then cut into pieces.

Finely chop the onion.  In a frying pan saute the onion in the butter.  Add the bell pepper and cook for another 10 min.  Add the tomato puree, salt, and pepper and cook for another 10 min.  Remove from the heat.  

With an immersion blender (Or by transferring to a blender) blend the entire mixture for several minutes, or until it reaches a smooth consistency.  Stir in three generous tablespoons of cream and return to heat for just a few minutes.  Serve it over gnocchi or pasta and be sure to add a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese on top!