I crave pasta…but, it has to be good. And, for it to be good, it has to be homemade—which does not mean it has to take a long time! My absolute favorite pasta is the Target brand 100% whole what angel hair. Absolutely divine.
Ingredients:
- 1 box of pasta (thinner is good, but use what you’ve got)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 28-ounce can of whole or diced tomatoes, pureed to desired chunkiness in blender (or other apparatus of choice)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil flakes
TA DA! Seriously…that’s all the ingredients. Now…the twenty minute countdown to chow time begins.
- Heat the oil in a skillet or shallow saucepan over medium to med-high heat. Bring a 4 quarts of water to boil in an 8-quart stock pot.
- Chop onion (while oil heats). Throw onion in pot, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and basil. Stir occasionally.
- About the time the onion starts to brown, the water will be boiling. Throw 1 tablespoon salt into boiling water (no need to stir; the boiling water takes care of that part for you). Now pour pureed tomatoes into pan with onions.
- Add pasta to pot, and stir to make sure the noodles are separated. Stir sauce to scrape up yummy brown bits off of bottom. Continue to stir both, occasionally. In the meantime, set the table and grab condiments (freshly-ground parmigiana can’t be beat).
- When the pasta is done, save about one-half cup of the pasta water (just dip a glass measuring cup in there—no need to be precise!!), then drain pasta. While pasta is dripping through strainer, in sink, grab sauce off heat.
- If you’re a mixer, toss both together in large bowl and thin as needed with pasta water. If you’re a separator (my family raises hands), place all three containers on table.
- Enjoy! Wash and repeat. Many, many times.
(Optional). Okay—so, your’e thinking—-where’s the veggies?? I’ve got you covered!! Between steps 3 and 4, throw in one pound of chopped fresh broccoli into the boiling, salted water. Count to 60 (okay, one minute), and use a strainer to remove and place in serving bowl. Douse with loads of freshly-ground pepper and continue with step four. See? Healthy AND it only took an extra two minutes!
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Can I use dried minced onion?
Yes, you could, with a different result and flavor. If you wanted to do this route, begin by adding 2 tablespoons of dried onion to the pureed tomatoes + 1/3 cup water. Allow this to rest for about ten minutes. Then, sauté only the dried basil in the oil for about five minutes (keep the heat closer to medium). Then, proceed with the recipe as directed.
The main flavor differences will be missing the caramelized onion (since you can’t mimic this with dehydrated onions) as well as the “fresh” flavor that makes this sauce so lovely—-it will still be quick, though!
what happened to the fresh garlic?!?! I have to have garlic in my pastas, call me snobby, but it’s a must :)
Do you know/have any good Indian recipes. I love the food but it’s pricey to dine at the restuarants