Recently a kind and thoughtful friend gave me a selection of Italian sweet peppers (capsicum annum) from her local farmers market.

While I love all things capsicum and these are great fried up with a little onion I thought I would make a slightly more complex but typical antipasti that captures the slight sweetness of the pepper and combine it with the richness of tuna.

Roasted Italian Sweets with Oil Poached Tuna

6 Italian Sweet Peppers
1 jar imported Bonito del Norte (Tuna in oil - Spanish or Italian are the best for this)
Olive Oil for drizzling
Capers

Juice of a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkling of smoked paprika (optional)

Roast the peppers until charred on all sides. Place in bowl and cover with plastic wrap to allow peppers to steam. Remove charred skin from peppers careful not to rip or tear the pepper. Slice of the stem end of the pepper and make a cut down one side and open up the pepper flat on a cutting board. Remove seeds and any of the white veins inside the pepper (they can sometimes be bitter). Slice the pepper in half logway so you have two long strips of the pepper. Repeat on all peppers. Drain the oil from the tuna but keep the oil for later. Carefully remove the tuna from the jar and do you best to make long strips of the tuna. Lay pepper flat on board with inside of pepper facing up. Place strip of pepper across the pepper and roll from the skinny end to the thicker end of the pepper. Place on serving platter and repeat until all peppers and tuna are rolled. Season with salt, pepper, paprika (if using) and drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil (oil from the tuna is fine but use fresh oil if preferred) and top with capers. Serve right away or let set at room temperature for and hour or so to let flavors mingle.

The rest of the meal was comprised of (going clockwise from 9 o'clock) hummus, caprese salad with fresh tomatoes from our friends Ian and Rachael's tomato plants, a simple fennel, celery and spring onion salad and padron peppers from Spain sauteed in olive oil with a sprinkling of sea salt and a fresh bagguette.

Shrimp fra Diablo Primevera

Okay probably not a traditional pasta dish from Italy but a piquant, spicy tomato sauce with shrimp and roasted vegetables sounds great for a Sunday evening meal........

Spicy Tomato Sauce
1/2 onion diced
1 stalk celery small dice
1 carrot small dice
3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large can whole plum tomatoes pulsed 4 times in food processor
1 teaspoon pepperincino (red chili flakes)
2 tablespoon olive oil
2 Bay Leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
couple of pinches of sugar
1 cup dry white wine

Heat olive oil in a deep skillet or saucepan. add onion and saute until translucent. Add smashed garlic and carrots and celery. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until limp. We are not looking to brown the vegetables. Add chili flakes, tomato paste, thyme and oregano. Allow tomato paste to turn a slight rust color about 3 minutes then add sugar. Turn heat to high and add white wine (don't let sugar burn). Cook until all the wine is evaporated. Add the pulsed tomatoes and the bay leaves. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Roasted Vegetables
Large dice of the following:
1/2 onion
2 courgette
6-8 stalks asparagus
1 cup broccoli florets
1 yellow diced pepper
1 tomato seeded
Mix all in a bowl with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Place onto a baking sheet and into 425 F oven for 15 minutes or until the edges of the veg start to brown. Remove from Oven and set aside.

Shrimp and Pasta
A dozen 21 to 30 count shrimp peeled and deveined
toss in a bowl with a little olive oil, chili flake and salt.

Saute in a saute pan 1 to 2 minutes per side and pull

off heat and place on plate. Set aside.

In same pan saute a little spinach (this is optional) set aside

Cook pasta per directions on package. I suggest Spaghetti or Farfalle.

In pot where pasta was cooked and drained add some sauce (1 cup) the roasted veg and the shrimp. Bring to temperature and add pasta stirring to coat and add spinach. Serve with fresh basil or parsley and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Technically you should not put cheese on a seafood pasta but what the hell I like what I like.