“Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, Sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, Soy sauce makes it Chinese but garlic makes it good.” – How true. I have a big big addiction for roasted garlic. At least, at least something that is good for you surprisingly can taste good too. Garlic tops that list for me.
This is an everyday pasta recipe that can be put together in under 30 minutes which works for me. You will need the following. Along with other ingredients, Basil finally makes it Italian. Basil gives a nice finishing fresh flavor and taste. So do not skip Basil. This recipe uses very simple everyday pantry ingredients. I used Amul Cream for this recipe.
You will need pureed tomatoes for this recipe. You can use canned tomatoes if you want. I have an easy way to skin and de-seed fresh tomatoes. I just run the tomatoes in the food processor and strain. That’s my easy route to skinned De-seeded tomatoes.
Heat a heavy pan and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and set it on a very very very very low heat. Garlic burns fast. So use caution. Add in a whole pod of finely chopped garlic and saute till nice and light brown. It can take up to 3 minutes. We are still working on low flame. The line between brown and burnt garlic is very thin. so your eyes on the pan please….
Once the garlic is brown, add in the chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes until the onions are soft. Add in the tomato puree. Add the salt and freshly ground pepper. My heart is with pepper and soul still with garlic. Whenever I make tomato based sauce, I add a teaspoon of sugar to cut the acidity. It rounds the taste. That is a little Nonna trick.
Let it simmer on medium flame for 5 minutes. Add in half a cup of cream and combine well. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes more. Add in the pasta and mix well to coat. Remove off heat. Add in the basil and serve hot!
- 1.5 cups dry pasta
- 8 tomatoes, pureed
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 whole pod garlic, finely minced
- 2 medium onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup cream
- 2 tablespoon Basil, Chiffonade
- Add oil to a wide skillet set over very low heat. Add in the minced garlic.Saute till light brown and roasted. Add in the chopped onions and briefly saute for a couple of minutes until soft.
- Add in the pureed tomatoes and reduce the flame to low. Add in the sugar, pepper and salt.
- Check for seasoning. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add in the cream and mix well to combine and let it simmer for couple of minutes more.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and add to the pot and let it cook in the sauce for a couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat. Add the fresh basil and serve hot.