Title: Pasta with Roasted Tomato & Red Chile
Categories: Pasta Sauce Lowcal
Yield: 4 Servings
| 2 | lb | Large, firm, ripe tomatoes |
| 1 | lg | Long, red, dried New Mexican chile (about 1 1/2 ounces) |
| 1 | tb | Olive oil |
| 2 | md | Garlic cloves, chopped fine |
| 1 | ts | Sugar |
| 1 | ts | Dried oregano |
| 1 1/2 | tb | Fresh cilantro, chopped |
| | | Cooked Pasta |
Preheat oven to 500. With a fork, pierce the tomatoes near their stem ends.
Put them in a baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Put the chile in a
separate foil-lined pan. Put both pans in the oven. Roast the chile until
it turns evenly dark brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set
it aside. Continue roasting the tomatoes until their skins are evenly
blackened, about 45 minutes. With your hands, split open the chile and
remove its stem and seeds. Break its flesh and skin into a food processor
fitted with the metal blade. Pulse the machine on and off several times
until the chile is finely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the processor,
including their skins and any juices that have collected in the pan. Pulse
the machine until the tomatoes are chopped to a coarse puree. In a large
saucepan or skillet, heat the oil with the garlic over moderate heat. When
the garlic begins to brown, add the tomato-chile mixture and stir in the
sugar and olive oregano. Simmer until thick but still slightly liquid,
about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve over cooked pasta.