There’s lots of savoury 'umami’ flavour packed into this bowl of aromatic comfort

T here are lots of uses for this charred red pepper sauce. It’s lovely tossed through pasta, but you could also serve it with jarred butter beans or as a soup, each time with the zingy salsa spooned on top to cut through the richness. If you’re going with the pasta, feel free to be creative with the shape you use; gnocchi, pappardelle or paccheri are all great options. It may not look as if there’s much going on in the ingredients list for the sauce, but, trust me, you’ll want to eat it straight out of the blender with a spoon.

Don’t skip the dried onion granules: they might seem a bit of an obscure, unnecessary ingredient, but they provide an extra level of concentrated umami and are widely available besides. Ideally, grate the nutmeg yourself, rather than using ready ground, which can be a little bitter.

Prep 10 min Cook 30 min Serves 4

250g dried tagliatelle (or another pasta)

For the sauce 340g red romano peppers (ie, 3-4 peppers) 125g plant-based cream, or full-fat tinned coconut milk 25g white miso paste 25g tomato paste 2 tbsp olive oil 1 small garlic clove, peeled 1 tsp dried onion granules 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or ¼ tsp ground nutmeg), plus extra to serve ½ tsp paprika (not smoked) Salt and black pepper

For the salsa 10g chives, very finely chopped (about 3⅓ tbsp) 5g parsley, very finely chopped (about 1½ tbsp) 2 thin slices lemon, skin left on, deseeded and very finely chopped 3 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oven grill to its highest setting. Lay out the peppers on a flat baking tray and grill on the top shelf for about eight minutes, until soft and blackened in patches. Turn and grill for another seven or eight minutes, until the other side is soft and blackened in patches, too – keep an eye on them, though: if your grill is particularly powerful, they may be ready sooner.

Remove the pepper stalks, pith and seeds, then put the rest in a blender (there’s no need to peel the peppers). Add all the remaining sauce ingredients, a quarter-teaspoon of fine salt and lots of black pepper (I used about 50 twists of the mill), then blitz smooth. Pour the sauce into a large saute pan and set aside.

Put all the ingredients for the salsa verde in a small bowl, add an eighth of a teaspoon of fine salt and some black pepper to taste, mix to combine and set aside.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water as per the packet instructions. until al dente, then drain, reserving 325ml of the cooking water.

Put the saute pan with the sauce on a medium-high heat, then add the reserved pasta water and bring to a simmer. Add the drained tagliatelle and toss over the heat for 90 seconds to two minutes, just until the pasta and sauce have emulsified.

Add more salt to taste, if need be, then divide between four plates and drizzle over some of the salsa. Finish with a grating of nutmeg, some black pepper and more olive oil, and serve.

Ixta Belfrage’s debut solo cookbook, Mezcla: Recipes to Excite, is published by Ebury in July