Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce

I recently went to my parents house and loaded up on fresh vegetables from the garden.  The red peppers are finally ripening!  I have been waiting all summer to make this dish.  A saucy pasta dish is hard to botch, but plain tomato sauce can get pretty boring.  To jazz it up, substitute the tomatoes with roasted red peppers and voila!  A delicious Roasted Red Pepper Pasta Sauce to accompany the wonderful noodle.  Fresh picked basil adds a whole depth of flavor to this sauce.

Ingredients:
3 red peppers (such as Bell peppers, I used Red Godfather from the garden)
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup basil, chopped
3/4 cup vegetable broth
salt and pepper, to taste
vegetable oil
1 lb of pasta

For this recipe feel free to use a jar of roasted red peppers, but roasting peppers is so easy you may want to consider making them fresh.  Also, you can omit the carrot if you'd like.  I add it to get extra vegetables into my diet and it adds a slight sweetness to the dish.

On a baking sheet rub vegetable oil all over the peppers being sure to get in all the crevices.  Avoid using extra virgin olive oil as it's smoke point is low and will burn when broiled.  If you have a grill or gas burner you can roast your peppers that way.

Watch carefully and turn them as they begin to char.  Charring gives the peppers flavor.  When they are done put them in a bowl and quickly put plastic wrap on top to seal in the heat.  This helps the skin peel off easily.

Let the peppers cool for about 15-20 minutes.  Peel off the skins and discard.  Some people like to run them under water to help peel the skins but I think this takes away some of the roasted flavor.

In a sauce pan, add 2 tbs oil and saute garlic for 2 minutes over medium heat.  Add onions and carrots and saute until onions soften.  Add roasted red peppers, basil, and vegetable broth.  Drop the heat to simmer and cover for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta.  It can be any type you have on hand, but pasta shapes that hold sauce work best.  I used Campanelle.

After the sauce has simmered, carefully put it into a blender and puree.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Strain pasta and put back into pot and mix with sauce.

 Serve with parmesan and crusty bread.