Peppers and Pasta

Sant'Erasmo, a small island in Italy's Venetian lagoon, is known by the locals as the "vegetable garden of Venice." Thanks to the unique characteristics of its sand-and-clay soil, the prized produce cultivated there is particularly toothsome. From Sant'Erasmo come some of the most extraordinary intensely flavored sweet peppers that we have ever tasted. There is only a small window of opportunity in which they are available, and we were lucky enough to find them one year when we were conducting a cooking course in Verona. We used them for our risotto class, where the intensely flavorful peppers enhanced the creamy rice dish. You don't need to take a flight to Venice, however, to enjoy this pasta sauce, spiked with red and yellow bell peppers and a luscious helping of butter. Whether you grow your own peppers or get them from your local farmers' market, this dish will be a delicious remembrance of summer. It is one of our daughter Gabriella's favorites, and we often make a whole meal of it followed by a salad.