Amsterdam has canals, bikes, way too many tourists… and then there’s Toscanini, quietly serving some of the best Italian food I’ve had anywhere. If you’re visiting, put it on your list. If you’re a tourist: you didn’t hear it from me. If you’re a local: obviously you already know. They just released a pasta cookbook, and if I had to pick one pasta book (luckily no one is forcing me), it would be this one.
Naturally, the kid immediately baptised it with tea. So now it looks like a centuries-old artefact passed down from my Italian grandpa. Except: grandpa is from Kazakhstan, Borat's homeland, and the book is one month old. Details.
So today’s pasta alla peperonata comes straight from that book. Peperonata is basically a sweet bell-pepper sauce. Bonus: make a batch, stash some in the freezer, and future-you gets dinner on easy mode. Peak dad practicality.
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 people
Ingredients:
80 ml (1/3 cup) extra virgin oil
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
4 big red bell peppers, sliced in 2cm (3/4 inch) pieces
1 400g (14.5 oz) can of peeled tomatoes
400g (14.5 oz) of short pasta of your choosing, penne fits great
80g (3 oz) Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Steps:
Heat the olive oil in a large, shallow pan. Sauté the onion with a generous pinch of salt until soft and lightly golden. Add the bell peppers, turn the heat to high, and stir for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes and simmer uncovered over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring now and then. Break up any large chunks of tomato with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce should be thick.
Purée half the sauce with an immersion blender directly in the pan (carefully, on low speed — it’s hot). Keep warm; at this point, the sauce is ready.
Fill a pot with 4 liters (about 1 gallon) of water. Bring to a boil, then add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta, stir, and cook 1 minute less than the package directions.
Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta to the sauce and toss well. Add a ladleful of pasta cooking water if needed, then cook together for another minute until the sauce clings nicely.
Serve with grated Parmesan.