Pasta al Pomodoro

As you all know I love to cook. Sometimes though I don’t always have time for big dishes with lots of ingredients and preparation and to me the quickest and most satisfying dishes to knock up quickly, involve pasta and a few simple ingredients and out of those dishes I would say that Pasta al Pomodoro has to be the easiest. All you need is some pasta, I usually use spaghetti but you can use any pasta you like, olive oil, garlic and some tomatoes!

Pasta al Pomodoro is so simple you can do it with your eyes closed, mind your fingers whilst slicing the garlic though!

Actually use a garlic press instead of slicing the garlic and this dish is even quicker! As cooking it takes as long as the pasta needs to boil!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  400gm dried spaghetti or pasta of your choice
  1 -2 tbsp olive oil
  2 cloves of garlic, crushed or sliced
  About 20 or so cherry tomatoes chopped or dice up about 4 or 5 regular tomatoes
  Salt and pepper to season
  1/2 tspn sugar
  Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
  Small bunch of basil, chopped

Preparation method:

Put a pot of water on to boil. Now heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and drizzle in your olive oil. When the oil’s hot add the garlic and fry until lightly coloured. Pour in th chopped tomatoes and two thirds of the chopped fresh basil, season with salt, pepper and sugar and then the chilli flakes to give it a nice zing and stir. Bring to a boil then turn right down to a simmer.

When the water in the panis boiling add a good couple of pinches of salt and the spaghetti and cook for about 8 or 9 minutes or until the spaghetti is”al dente”.
Taste the sauce and season if needed. Drain the pasta in a colander and quickly toss into the warm sauce for a further minute or two to let the sauce be absorbed into the pasta and givce it a good mix.

Either pour into a large bowl or plate the portions up. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the rest of the chopped basil and serve.

Enjoy!