Pepper relish with Pasta

Now in our household we love a bit of pasta.We have spaghetti, we have tagliatelli, fusilli, penne, vermicelli,  the list goes on and on. There are so many types but they all become a real treat with a pasta sauce. We have all been to the shop and seen the jars and packets, tins and cartons of pasta sauces, These all have their place in the kitchen but nothing is as tasty a homemade pasta sauce. Charlotte made this one recently and I enjoye it so much that i thought we needed to share it with you. Unfortunatly i can't take the credit for this one as it is one of Delia Smiths taken from How to Cook Book Three and Delia's Vegetarian Collection.
I am sure you will enjoy Pepper relish with pasta.

Pepper relish with pasta

Serves 4                      Cook time 50 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) rigatoni or spaghetti

For the relish:

•  1 lb (450 g) mixed red and yellow peppers (about 3 peppers in total), quartered, deseeded and cut into ¼ inch (5 mm) strips
•  4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
•  1 rounded teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed
•  1 dessertspoon olive oil
•  5 cloves garlic, chopped
•  2 medium-sized red chillies, deseeded and chopped
•  2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato paste
•  4 sprigs fresh basil, to garnish
•  salt and freshly milled black pepper

You will also need a lidded frying pan with a 10 inch diameter.

Method   First, skin the tomatoes. To do this, place them in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over them and count 60 seconds. After that, pour off the water and slip off their skins (protecting your hands with a cloth if the tomatoes are hot). Roughly chop the tomatoes. Watch How to Skin Tomatoes here. Next, dry-roast the cumin seeds in the frying pan for about a minute, until they become fragrant. Now add the oil and when it’s hot, stir in the peppers, garlic and chillies and turn the heat down as low as possible. Then cover and cook slowly for about 40 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the peppers are really soft. After that, add the tomatoes and the sun-dried tomato paste to the softened peppers. Season and continue to cook, uncovered, over a highish heat, until the mixture is reduced and thickened slightly – about 5 minutes. Next, keep the sauce warm and cook the pasta – for a minute less than the pack instructions advise. Then drain it and quickly return it to the hot pan, along with the sauce, and place it over a gentle heat. Watch How to Cook Perfect Pasta here Stir, and continue to cook for about another minute, to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. Serve straight away in hot bowls, garnished with the basil.