Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Pasta Sauce

My own creation after many trials and errors. The key here is the roasted garlic; it really gives the recipe a robust flavour. The result is a sweet, lovely and flavourful sauce.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Serves: 8
• Yields: 8

Ingredients

• 1  head garlic
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
• 1  large red bell pepper
• 1  pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1  teaspoon sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon  balsamic vinegar
• 1  teaspoon cornstarch
• 1  dash salt, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cut top 1/4 off garlic head and cut around to expose as many cloves as possible.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and place on a baking dish or in a roasting pan (I usually roast vegetables along side it because it makes the vegetables nice and garlicky).
4. Place whole red pepper in dish and place in oven.
5. Roast for 1 hour or until cloves are soft and mushy inside (you should be able to squeeze a clove and have all the garlic goodness come right out).
6. Place red pepper in plastic ziploc bag and seal, let sit about 10-15 minutes or until it cools and is easy enough to handle.
7. Meanwhile, pour can of diced tomatoes in blender.
8. Add balsamic vinegar, salt, sugar and red pepper flakes.
9. Squeeze cloves out of garlic head (you can leave the skins on).
10. Once pepper has cooled, peel off skin (it should come right off), cut open, take out seeds and remove stem
11. Place pepper in blender.
12. Puree mixture until blended.
13. Stir in cornstarch.
14. Heat up on stove when ready to eat or store in container and freeze for later.