This is one of those dishes that reminds you that Italian cooking is not about complexity, it’s about care.
Nonna’s Pepper Pasta is built on a slow-cooked soffritto made with peppers, onion, carrots, and leek. Nothing fancy. Just vegetables that are given time to soften, release their sweetness, and melt together.
The magic happens when half of the vegetables are blended with pasta water, turning humble ingredients into a naturally creamy sauce. It’s the kind of pasta Nonna would make on a quiet weekday, when the kitchen smells warm and familiar and everyone ends up hovering near the stove.
Watch Nonna cook this recipe on Youtube, click here.
Ingredients
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Bell peppers (any color), sliced
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1 onion, chopped
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2 carrots, chopped
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1 leek, sliced
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Fresh parsley, finely chopped
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Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Prepare the soffritto
Start by cutting all the vegetables: peppers, onion, carrots, and leek.
2. Cook slowly
In a wide pan, add a generous pour of Papa Vince Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Add all the vegetables and cook over low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.
This is the most important part of the recipe.
The vegetables should soften slowly, not brown. Be patient, this can take time, and that’s exactly how it should be.
Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Boil the pasta
While the vegetables cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Salt the water generously, then add the Papa Vince Pasta and cook until al dente.
Before draining, reserve some pasta water.
4. Make the sauce
Once the vegetables are soft and sweet, remove half of them from the pan.
Place them in a blender with a little reserved pasta water.
Blend until smooth, this becomes your natural, vegetable-based sauce.
5. Assemble & serve
Drain the pasta and combine it with the remaining vegetables in the pan.
Serve the pasta, then spoon the blended sauce over the top.
Finish with freshly chopped parsley and, if you like, another drizzle of Papa Vince EVOO.
Enjoy!
Nonna's tip
“Never throw away the pasta water.That cloudy water is full of flavor. Add it little by little to the vegetables to make the sauce silky and help everything come together. ”
