Rotini with Chorizo and Peppers

Another simple meal tonight, using up the last of the contents of the fridge before a busy weekend. While we were baking the lasagne, I used the heat of the oven to simultaneously roast some peppers. As usual I dropped these into a pyrex bowl, covered with a plate and left them for a few hours. When I peeled the skin off, I found they'd also sweated out quite a bit of nice peppery juice, so I decided to save them for a main meal instead of just using them in a side salad. And thus tonight's meal was born.

Ingredients:

• 300g dried pasta, or enough for two
• a few inches of chorizo
• 4 cloves of garlic
• a pinch of oregano or mixed herbs
• 1 bay leaf
• two ripe tomatoes
• 3 roasted bell peppers, skins removed
• a generous handful of fresh parsley
• Parmesan cheese

Cook the pasta for the time required by its instructions. I'm a firm believer in cooking pasta in a big pan of salted water at a rolling boil. The SO likes to just cover it and simmer it, until it all congeals to the bottom of the pan in a soggy mess. Hmm, I wonder if he'll read this.

Slice the chorizo into shapes reminiscent of your pasta; tonight we used rotini (sold as fusili in Sainsbury's) so I sliced the chorizo into thin coins, then lengthwise into strips. Fry in a gentle heat in a trace of olive oil, so the chorizo cooks and colours. (If you're vegetarian, you could replace the chorizo with some pine nuts: toast them in a non-stick pan and add right at the end.)

Crush the garlic into the hot oil, stir, and cook for a further minute. Season well with black pepper and add the bay leaf and oregano: if you're using mixed herbs or dried oregano, just use the barest pinch or everything will taste like pizza sauce. With fresh herbs you can be a little more generous.

Chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan, and any juices from your roasted peppers. If your peppers were fairly dry, you can throw in a glass of white wine, or some chicken stock. Bubble the sauce over a moderate heat for about 5 minutes, until it has reduced and the tomatoes have softened. Tip in the peppers, reduce the heat and allow to just warm through. Finely chop the parsley, combine it through and season to taste. Serve over the cooked pasta, topped with grated Parmesan.