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* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Pasta With Tomato Sauce

 

Recipe By : The Best Vegetarian Recipes, by Martha Rose Shulman, p. 194

Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories : Main Dishes, Vegetarian Pasta, Couscous, Etc.

Sauces And Marinades Vegetables

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 large garlic cloves -- minced, up to 3

28 ounces canned tomatoes

drained of all but about 1/2 cup

of the juice

seeded and crushed in a food processor -- (not puréed)

with the retained juice -- or finely chopped

1/8 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons slivered fresh basil leaves

OR 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme -- or a

combination

freshly ground black pepper -- to taste

3/4 pound dried pasta -- up to 1 pound

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

 

The first thing I ever learned to cook was spaghetti sauce. Knowing how to

make a good tomato sauce, a basic Italian marinara made with seasoned

tomatoes, is fundamental. Pasta with nothing more than this sauce and a

sprinkling of Parmesan always makes a great meal, and there are many

variations on the theme. You can add green vegetables or chickpeas or

white beans to the equation, or enrich the sauce with goat cheese, heat it

up with hot red pepper flakes, and more.

 

I use canned tomatoes much more often than fresh tomatoes for pasta. There

are just so many months in the year when good fresh tomatoes at a

reasonable price are not available. When they are, I tend to make uncooked

tomato sauces. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, which

might not seem like a lot to you; but pasta should be seasoned, not

drowned, in a sauce. It's enough for 3/4 pound pasta, to serve four, or 1

pound pasta, to serve six. MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

 

1. Begin heating a large pot or pasta pot filled with water for the pasta.

 

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add

the garlic and cook for 30 to 60 seconds. Don't let the garlic turn hard

or brown. It should just become translucent and fragrant, and the color

should become slightly golden. As soon as the garlic begins to color, add

the tomatoes and their liquid, the sugar, 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt, and

dried herbs, if using. Cook, stirring often, for 10 to 20 minutes, until

the tomatoes are cooked down, fragrant, and just beginning to stick to the

pan, but not dry. Stir in the fresh basil, if using. Add pepper, a few

grinds of the mill. Taste. Does the sauce taste vivid? Is there enough

salt? Garlic? Adjust seasonings and turn off the heat.

 

3. When the pasta water reaches a rolling boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and

the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente, firm to the bite, and

drain. Toss at once with the sauce and serve, passing the grated cheese.

 

Advance preparation: This sauce can be made hours ahead of time and kept on

the stove. Reheat gently, adding a little water if it seems dry. It will

keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days and freezes well for 6 months.

 

PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND A GREEN VEGETABLE: To add a green vegetable to

the meal, add one of the following to the pasta water 3 to 5 minutes after

adding the pasta (4 to 5 minutes before the end of cooking): 1/2 pound

green beans, trimmed, strings removed if necessary and broken in half; or

1/2 to 1 pound broccoli, broken into florets, stems discarded, or peeled

and sliced; or 1/2 pound sugar snap peas, strings removed; or 1 pound fresh

peas, shelled; or 1 cup frozen peas (thawed or still frozen). Drain and

toss with the tomato sauce as above. Proceed as above.

 

PASTA WITH TOMATO SAUCE AND CHICKPEAS: Make the tomato sauce as

directed. Drain one 15-ounce can chickpeas and rinse the beans with cold

water. Add to the sauce and heat through. Proceed as above.

 

PASTA WITH SPICY TOMATO SAUCE: Add 1 or 2 dried red peppers, crumbled, or

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to the olive oil along with the garlic and

proceed as above. This version is particularly good with chickpeas added.

 

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