This sauce is seriously the easiest and quickest pasta sauce ever. Chop some tomatoes and bell peppers, simmer, add a punch of flavor with pesto and-BOOM!-dinner is ready! Yep, that’s all it takes to make a dinner that doubles as a hot or cold pasta salad to take to work/school for lunch during the rest of the week.
What (your ingredients):
1 lb. short pasta
2 cups tomatoes, roughly chopped (I used yellow/red/orange cherry tomatoes and orange heirloom tomatoes)
1 yellow pepper, roughly chopped
1 orange pepper, roughly chopped
½ cup water
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon pesto
How (your directions):
Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt to the salinity of the ocean (this ensures flavorful cooked pasta). Cook pasta according to pasta directions, then drain and set aside.
In a large saucepan, add tomatoes, peppers, a pinch of salt, and the ½ cup of water.
Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove lid and reduce liquid slightly for 5 minutes.
Transfer sauce to blender and add pesto. Blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Pour sauce back into the saucepan and mix pasta into sauce over low heat, to finish heating through.
Serve immediately! Also delicious cold for lunch.
Why (the science): Bell peppers are full of vitamin C, A, and folate! Not to mention, this pasta sauce has ZERO sugar, a characteristic hard to find in most store-bought pasta sauces.
