Fresh Tomatoes and Fresh Pasta

The juxtaposition of plump red tomatoes and shiny green pasilla peppers at the SLO Farm stand last Sunday was the inspiration for a simple sauce to go with homemade pasta.  I love fresh, uncooked tomatoes on pasta, but they need a little something else, and it occurred to me that roasted pasillas and garlic would be just the thing to give the sauce some complexity.

I recently gave my husband a pasta machine (more a present for myself, I must admit), but the real present to both of us was that our 7 year old daughter quickly became an accomplished pasta chef.  All I have to do is whip up the dough in the food processor (eggs and flour and a small drizzle of water until the dough just starts to come together).

Then she rolls it out

and cuts it, and presto: fresh pasta.

For the sauce, I broiled halved pasilla peppers and whole garlic cloves in the toaster oven, then peeled off the blistered skins from the peppers, chopped them together with the soft insides of the garlic cloves, and soaked them in olive oil.

While the peppers were roasting, I diced up tomatoes, and added chopped parsley and salt.

When the pasta was done, I tossed it with the tomatoes and poured over the garlicy, roasted pepper oil.  The dish had just the right balance of freshness and spicy smokiness.

Fresh Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Roasted Pasillas

For the pasta

2 eggs

2 cups flour

<1/4 cup water

1. Combine the eggs and flour in food processor and while it's running drizzle in just enough water for the dough to come together.

2. Roll out the dough with a pasta machine, cut, and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes.

For the sauce

4 tomatoes

2 pasilla peppers

generous handful of flat leaf parsley

6 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

salt

1. Roast the pasilla peppers and garlic.  You can do this under the broiler of a toasting oven if you don't feel like turning on your oven.  Remove the blistered skin of the peppers and dice finely.  Peel the garlic cloves and mash in with the peppers.  Cover with olive and let stand.

2.  Core and dice the tomatoes and put in your serving bowl.  Add chopped parsley and salt to taste.  Toss in the cooked pasta and pour over the roasted garlic and pepper oil.

Serves 2 adults and 2 small eaters