This flavor bomb of a pasta salad combines our tangy-hot Spicy Mussels with a heap of bell peppers, cooked down over a low flame until they’re soft, sweet and jammy. We stir the peppers into cooked whole-wheat penne while the pasta is still hot, so the penne absorbs all that flavor as it cools. Serve at room temp or cold.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. mixed red and orange bell peppers
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 head garlic, cloves peeled
• 6 to 8 large sprigs thyme
• 1 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/3 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
• 1 1/4 tsp. sugar, divided
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• ½ lb. Patagonia Provisions Organic Penne Pasta 
• 2 cans Patagonia Provisions Spicy Mussels
• 3 oz. mild feta, crumbled
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn if large, or roughly chopped parsley
• 1 cup toasted sliced almonds

Putting It All Together

1. Stem and seed the bell peppers. Cut into ¾-in.-thick strips.
2. Heat oil in a large, heavy deep pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add pepper strips, garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, paprika, cayenne, 1 1/2 tsp. salt and 3/4 tsp. sugar and cook, covered, stirring every now and then, until the peppers start softening, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low. Pour in 3/4 cup vinegar and keep cooking, covered, until peppers are super soft and browned in spots, about 45 minutes more. Remove thyme stems.
3. While peppers are cooking, pickle the onion: In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup vinegar with remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and ½ tsp. sugar. Stir in onions and toss to coat. Let sit at least 30 minutes.
4. Cook penne in boiling salted water until tender, 12-15 minutes. Drain.
5. Add hot pasta to pot of peppers, along with the onions and their liquid. Crack open the cans of mussels and stir liquid from the cans (not the mussels yet) into the pasta. Let cool to room temperature.
6. Right before serving, stir in mussels, feta, basil leaves and toasted almonds.