The summer brings the abundance of fresh garden vegetables and grilling them to create classic dishes simply adds flavour. We like this Grilled Tomato and Pepper Pasta dish since it uses fresh garden tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and if you have zucchini or what have you, we are sure it will make it even better!

Make this pasta sauce with short pasta such as rotini or penne rather than long spaghetti like pasta. The short curly stuff soaks up the sauce!

Rounding out this meal is the Grilled Italian Meatballs made with pork, chicken or even turkey. So tasty and these make this into a hearty meal!

Ingredients – Grilled Tomato and Pepper Pasta

4-6 Tomatoes
2 Bell peppers
4-6 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 Sweet Onion, diced
2-4 TB Olive oil, more to coat the vegetables
2 ts House of Q Peppered Bovine
1 TB House of Q Grandma’s Garden
1 cup Red wine
1 TB Basil (dried or 3 TB fresh)
1 TB Oregano (dried or 3 TB fresh)
3 TB Butter
300-400 grams Pasta, cooked al dente and chilled

Method

To start this dish prepare your grill for direct, medium heat grilling. Coat the tomatoes and peppers with oil. Grill to char the vegetables turning periodically. The tomatoes may split which is just fine. Remove from the grill and let cool to handle.

Peel the charred skin off the tomatoes and cut into quarters. Remove the seeds leaving the pulp of the tomato. Finish the rest of the tomatoes. Cut the grilled peppers open and remove the seeds. Slice into strips or rough dice. You can remove the skin of the peppers if you prefer but this does add a bit of grill flavour to the sauce.

Reduce the grill to low heat. In a grill safe pot add the olive oil and diced onion. Cover and soften the onions until very soft but not browned. Add the garlic, Peppered Bovine, Grandma’s Garden, the tomatoes and peppers. Stir and cover to cook the mixture for 30 minutes stirring regularly.

Once the tomato mixture has released much of their moisture, gotten soft and the tomatoes can easily be crushed with a spoon or potato masher, add 1 cup or so of red wine. Cover and continue cooking. Add the basil and oregano and stir into the sauce.

If the tomatoes are small enough and “mashed” you can keep going at this point or if you prefer puree the mixture to create a smoother texture. If you do this, pulse or blend safely in your blender and return to the pot.

Add the butter and melt into the sauce. Check for seasoning and add more salt or pepper if you prefer. The sauce should start to become smooth and rich at this point.

Add the cooked pasta and allow it to soak up any excess liquid from the sauce. Dish the pasta into bowls and add fresh basil and cheese if you wish and enjoy eating with your dinner guests. The best place to do this is while looking at your garden and connecting with your bounty!

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