We had some good ol’ spaghetti for dinner the other night and it reminded of how simple and lovely pasta, tomatoes and a little cheese can be.
There is nothing “authentic” about my house red sauce, but it’s a quick and tasty thing that I can throw together from pantry items. The batch I usually make is fairly large – enough for dinner-size portions of spaghetti for the whole fam, lunch portions for the next day and pizza sauce for another.
My House Red Sauce
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 whole shallot, sliced paper-thin
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 28 oz can of your favorite canned tomato (Muir Glen Fire-Roasted Crushed Tomatoes in my case)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil
1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
2. Add shallot and cook till softened.
3. Add balsamic vinegar and cook till reduced by about half.
4. Add canned tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer on low.
5. Ribbon fresh leaves of basil and mix in right before serving. (If using dried basil, add it in with the tomatoes so it can simmer with it a little longer.)
I’ll usually get my sauce going and then start my pasta. The sauce will be ready to go by the time my pasta is al dente. I’ll portion out about a cup of it for pizza sauce and then toss the spaghetti in the pan with the pasta. I like to top off with a little extra basil and parmesan.
Like I said, it’s not necessarily authentic, but it’s pretty darned-good stuff considering it was thrown together by a Texas-raised Chicana.
P.S. Everyone had seconds of the pasta which means that my go-with (Arugula & Apple Salad) went untouched.
Be kind. Be patient. Eat well.
aneelee 