Cast Iron

Fresh Tomato and Roasted Poblano Pepper Pasta

July 23, 2011
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

When tomatoes are at their peak in summer, I like to use them raw in sauce for fresh pasta with lots of fresh herbs. But you want to avoid having the dish taste too much like a salad. So I experimented with adding in diced roasted poblano peppers and roasted garlic, which proved to provide just the right kick and smokey undertones to the dish. This is a great dish for a hot summer evening when you don't want to turn on the oven or have a sauce simmering away in your kitchen. I roast the peppers over an open flame and the garlic cloves in a small cast iron skillet, which both go quite quickly, and the fresh pasta cooks in a blink. - Fairmount_market —Fairmount_market

Test Kitchen Notes

This is a great summer pasta, filled with bright and interesting flavors without being heavy. The poblanos are quite spicy and the vibrant tomatoes bring the dish to life. The roasted garlic rounds everything out. For people who've never made their own pasta, this is an easy starter recipe before graduating to more complicated shapes or stuffed pastas. - biffbourgeois —Stephanie Bourgeois

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • for the pasta
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cups flour
  • pinch of salt
  • drizzle of water as needed
  • for the tomato sauce
  • 4 large very ripe tomatoes, such as beefsteaks
  • 2 poblano peppers
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup olive oil, or more to taste
  • 1 large handful flat leaf parsley leaves
  • 1 large handful basil leaves
  • 4 sprigs marjoram
  • salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • freshly grated parmesan cheese
Directions
  1. To prepare the pasta dough, combine the flour, eggs and a pinch of salt in a food processor and mix until it just comes together into a dry dough. Depending on the size of your eggs, you may need to add a drizzle of water to allow the dough to form, or use a sprinkle more flour if it's too sticky.
  2. Set a pot of salted water to boil. Roll out the dough with a pasta machine and cut into fettucini.
  3. Heat a small cast iron skillet over medium high heat and roast the garlic cloves, turning, until their skin is charred on several sides and the insides are soft and fragrant. When they have cooled slightly, remove the skins and transfer them to a large serving bowl. Cover the garlic with the olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt and mash into a paste with a fork.
  4. Roast the poblano peppers over an open flame, turning regularly with tongs until the thin outer skin is blistered and charred. Remove the peppers to a bowl, cover with a plate, and allow the skins to steam off. After about ten minutes, peel off the skins (it's okay if a few specs of charred skins remain). Cut off the stems, slice open the peppers, and remove the seeds but don't scrape away too much of the juices. Chop the roasted flesh finely. Transfer the chopped poblanos to the serving bowl and toss them in the garlicy olive oil.
  5. On a large cutting board, core the tomatoes and chop them into a small dice. Chop the parsley and basil leaves finely. Remove the marjoram leaves from the stems. Mix the tomatoes and herbs together loosely and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper.
  6. Cook the fresh pasta in rapidly boiling water until it is al dente, about two minutes.
  7. Drain the pasta and toss it in the garlic- and pepper-infused olive oil to coat. Toss in the fresh tomatoes and herbs. Taste and add more olive oil and salt if needed. Serve immediately with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
  • Fairmount_market
    Fairmount_market
I'm a biology professor and mother of two, and in my (limited) free time I love to cook, which is much more forgiving than laboratory science. Last year I helped start a farmers market in my neighborhood, and to promote it, I created a food blog: fairmountmarket.blogspot.com. I enjoy the challenge of coming up with recipes for local, seasonal ingredients and finding fun ways to cook with my children.

2 Reviews

Sagegreen July 25, 2011
Homemade pasta, too. This looks great.
 
Fairmount_market July 25, 2011
My eight year old daughter loves to roll out home made pasta, so we have it frequently. What a treat!