Cold Pasta Sauce

This is an idea I originally swiped from "The Romagnoli's Table". There are a zillion variations (even Martha Stewart has one but it's good in spite of that). It's one of the few things you'll find in this collection that is actually good for you too. This is strictly a fresh ingredients type of dish. Canned tomatoes or that styrofoam produce you get in the supermarket won't do the trick.

Ingredients

1 Pound fresh, very ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 Medium red onion, chopped
1 Green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
6 Cloves of garlic, minced fine
4 Jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup minced, fresh herbs
(Parsley, Basil, Oregano, Chives)
6 Tblsp Good Olive Oil
2 Tblsp Red Wine Vinegar
Salt to taste
1 Pound Rotilli (Corkscrew) Pasta

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients, except the pasta, in a mixing bowl. Cover and let sit (not refrigerated) to blend flavors while the pasta cooks.

Cook the pasta al dente, drain and place in large serving dish. Pour the veggie mix over and toss to mix. The trick here is the hot pasta which kicks all the aromatics loose at once. You can do this cold but then it's just another pasta salad.

Delivery

Serve at once (while hot) with chunks of fresh Italian Bread (the marinade makes a marvelous dip and you can be virtuous about skipping the butter) and a red table wine. Makes a meal by itself or a neat side dish with broiled chicken or lamb chops (or fresh swordfish if you are rich).