Calabrian-Style Tomato and Sweet Pepper Sauce with Pasta

This recipe was inspired by a stewy mélange of cherry tomatoes, garlic, sweet-spicy peppers and extra-virgin olive oil that was served with flatbread at Ristorante Barbieri in Calabria. To make a sauce for pasta, we combine mini sweet peppers (usually sold in a trio of colors) with an earthy cubanelle pepper and add heat with pepper flakes. Cherry or grape tomatoes, plus a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, form the sauce’s backbone. Short pasta with a twisty or curly shape—such as casarecce, gemelli, cavatappi or campanelle—is ideal for ensnaring bits of tomato and peppers.