Salsa di Peperoni Rosso

You could also call this red pepper sauce, but it sounds much better in Italian. Red and yellow peppers are just the fully-ripened version of the ubiquitous green bell, and that extra time on the vine gives them a much fuller, sweeter flavor. Reasonably-priced red peppers start to appear in the markets in the spring, but this is really a recipe for later in the summer, when the deep red peppers from local farmers start to show up. It's great tossed with a short pasta and topped with parmigiano, but you can also serve it with grilled meat, grilled polenta squares, or any place else you might normally use tomato sauce. You'll need:

6 medium red bell peppers

1 medium onion

4 oz pancetta or bacon

3-4 cloves garlic

2-3 tblsp tomato paste (preferably Italian)

quarter cup dry red wine

1-2 tblsp red or white vinegar if needed

hot red pepper flake to taste

olive oil

Cook the diced pancetta in olive oil until brown, remove and set aside.

In the same pan, adding more oil if necessary, saute the diced peppers and onion until soft, about 15 minutes; add the diced garlic and cook another 5 minutes, but don't let garlic brown, remove from heat.

Process the sauteed vegetables until reasonably smooth...a little chunky is fine (you can also use a food mill or even chop for a long tiime); return to the pan.

Stir in the cooked pancetta, tomato paste, and red wine and cook gently for about 15 minutes; taste, and if necessary, add a little wine vinegar to adjust acidity; cook a few more minutes. If you like it hot, sprinkle in some hot red pepper flakes.