“Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole………O sole mio….”. Wait. I don’t speak Italian and the only words I sing in Italian are ‘o sole mio’. Then the words trail off into jibberish because, like I said, I only know how to sing those three words in Italian.
The words to the above are a part of the lyrics from “O Sole Mio” and when I hear them in my head, they are always in Luciano Pavarotti’s magnificent voice. I finally read an English translation of the this song and oh my they pretty much swept me off of my feet and I am NOT easily swept. I mean, just read this translation:
What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!
It’s upon your face!
When night comes and the sun has gone down.
Ho O O O ly Moly!!!!!!!!!!! Just makes you swoon, doesn’t it? Swoon and eat Italian food for the rest of your life.
I won’t swear that this recipe is Italian, but it does have the words ‘pesto’ and ‘pasta’ in the title. So, that must mean something, right? Plus, I use garlic, olive oil, and basil in the recipe and those are certainly a part of the Italian culinary culture. And if you’re worried about eating garlic and life ending up less romantic than the song portrays…hello…garlic for two takes care of that issue. One romantically swooning person eating garlic + one romantically swooning person eating garlic = 2 romantically swooning people who are not detecting any garlic on their partner in swoon.
Gosh, that was funny.
Red Pepper Pesto over Angel Hair Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce jar) roasted red peppers (about 2 cups), drained
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn or rough chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 pound 8 ounces dry weight angel hair pasta
Instructions
- In a blender, put the roasted red peppers (drained), basil leaves, and garlic cloves. Pulse a few times to get ingredients chopped together. It does not have to be smooth at this point.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, and salt. Pulse a few more times.
- Add the grated Parmesan cheese. Blend on medium speed.
- With the blender running, slowly add the olive oil. Continue blending until mixture is well blended.
- Prepare pasta according to package directions. Be sure to take pasta only to the al dente stage. It will absorb more moisture from the pesto.
- Drain pasta, leaving about 1/4 cup of cooking water in the bottom of the pot. Return pasta to pot. Add pesto to the pasta and toss well to coat.
- Serve immediately and pass more grated Parmesan for sprinkling on top of pasta, if desired.
Lotsa more pasta for you!
Spaghettit and Meatballs
Mediterranean Langostino Pasta
Pasta Salad with Sun Dried Tomato Dressing
I. LOVE. THIS.
Bev–Thank you! My husband and I couldn’t stop eating. We were embarrassing.
You gave me such a good laugh, especially the part about “2 romantically swooning people who are not detecting any garlic on their partner in swoon.” Amazing. I will have to make this for the boyfriend when he returns from SF. He’ll be thrilled!
I just made some red pepper pesto this weekend. So yummie and can be used for many items than just pasta. I would add pine nuts to the red pepper, garlic mix. You can also try making your own roasted red pepper for a more deep flavor.
Yum! I’ve recently started using angel hair again, loving how quickly it cooks!
That’s a lovely song! Your pasta look so delicious, yumm 🙂