Eating peppers: Good. Breathing peppers: Bad.

Here’s a cooking story to go along with one of my favorite recipes. When cooking with peppers, I typically roast them until the skins blister all around, then place them in a brown paper bag for 10 minutes. The skins then peel off very easily, and leave the pepper with perfect texture. If you want to remove the seeds, cut the peppers in half before broiling; but who’d want to remove the seeds? They’re good for heat!

I had perfected my recipe for my Hot Pepper Pasta using roasted peppers. But I had the bright idea of trying something different and sautéing them. So, I began by sautéing 3 cloves of garlic in about 4 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil. I then added sliced white onion with sliced peppers: pequin, finger hots and serranos. After softening them for about 3 minutes, my eyes began to itch. No problem, I was tired and it was catching up to me. Then I started to cough. My wife came into the room, nearly gagged in a fit of coughing, and I realized that I was creating a mild but unpleasant sort of home made pepper spray in my kitchen.

I haven’t tried sautéing hot peppers since. I don’t know if there is a good way; I haven’t ventured to try. I’ll stick to broiling them.

John’s Hot Pepper Pasta
3 cloves of garlic
12 Roma tomatoes
1 medium white onion
As many hot peppers as you like (I use serrano, finger hot, and pequin, but any type will work.)
4 teaspoons fresh basil
1 teaspoon fresh oregano
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 cup dry red wine
1 teaspoon white sugar
large bowl of ice water
1 lb. Pasta of choice
Grated Romano Cheese

1. Boil the tomatoes for 15 minutes.
2. Roast the peppers under a broiler until the skins blister. Rotate every few minutes so they cook evenly (Unless you have strong lungs and want to sauté them!)
3. Finely chop the onion, garlic, basil, oregano and thyme.
4. When the tomatoes are done boiling, shock them by dropping them in the ice water. The skins should then pull off easily. Discard the skins.
5. Place the tomatoes in a mixing bowl and mash to an even consistency.
6. When the peppers are fully blistered, remove from the broiler and place in a closed brown paper bag for 10 minutes. Then peel off skins. Slice into strips.
7. Bring the oil to medium heat in a large saucepan.
8. Saute the garlic until it softens, about 3 minutes. Do not burn!
9. Add the onions, sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes.
10. Deglaze the pan with the red wine.
11. Add the peppers, tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme and sugar. Stir thoroughly.
12. Reduce heat to low, simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
13. Boil pasta of choice for 10 minutes.
14. Combine the pasta and spicy sauce, top with romano cheese, and enjoy!