Far­falle with Spinach and Roast­ed Red Peppers

(serves 4 with left­overs for lunch)

1 lb far­falle pasta
3 red bell pep­pers, roast­ed and peeled
2 tbsps olive oil
5 cloves gar­lic, minced
1 red onion, minced
2 tbsps Ital­ian seasoning
sprin­kle hot red pep­per flakes
1 can plum toma­toes, crushed by hand
4 hand­fuls spinach, chiffonaded
1 hand­ful flat-leaf pars­ley, chopped fine
1 cup grat­ed pecori­no or parme­san cheese

Now, do you know how to roast red pep­pers? Of course you may buy them in a jar, ready-roast­ed. But they’re usu­al­ly sus­pend­ed in either vine­gar or oil, and let me tell you that means… slimey. Why not cut them in half, remove the seeds and put them under your oven broil­er? Or if you have a gas stove, turn on a burn­er and hold them over the flame with tongs, turn­ing them until they’re black­ened all over? Then put them in a brown paper bag you’ve been sav­ing from Star­bucks for that pur­pose, and let them sweat for a few min­utes, then peel. Slice small, in bite-size pieces.

And chif­fon­ad­ed spinach? It’s fid­dly. Lay the leaves on top of one anoth­er with the stems stick­ing out to one side, and slice thin.

So do all these things as the pas­ta water comes to a boil. Then heat the olive oil in a skil­let, saute the gar­lic and onion till soft, throw in the Ital­ian sea­son­ing and pep­per flakes and add the red pep­per bites. Ask your house­guest to grate the cheese, then boil the pas­ta. Add the toma­toes to the sauce in the skil­let: just squeeze each one sep­a­rate­ly, because did you ever think what nasty bits and pieces a toma­to com­pa­ny would save for a can of “chopped toma­toes”? Buy whole and squeeze.

Toss the spinach and pars­ley in at the last minute and stir till warm, then throw in the pas­ta and toss all togeth­er. Serve with the cheese on top. Lovely!