The Kitchen of Procrastination

In my last post I gave you a list of what I consider to be the most essential spices for your cabinet.  As I was staring at my barren cupboards today, it dawned on me that the box of pasta and can of tomatoes left in there would provide me the perfect opportunity to prove my point.

My favorite kind of pasta: better texture than whole wheat, better nutrition than plain

This is not a complicated, simmered all day kind of pasta sauce, but neither is it Prego.  It is a nice, simple topping for any pasta or bread you choose and can be made quickly and easily.  Throw in a can of beans like cannellinis during the last 5 mins, sprinkle some hard cheese on top, and you have yourself a complete meal that can be made on any work night.

15 Minute Pasta Sauce

2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/4-1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 small carrot, finely grated
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves, crushed in hand
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (I used one with garlic and basil already in them)
1/2 package of frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Heat the olive oil in a 2 quart sauce pan. Add the garlic and red chili, saute for 2-3 min until fragrant. Add the carrots and thyme and saute for a few more minutes. Add the tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Add the spinach and blend with a hand blender to desired consistency. Add about half the cheese and continue to simmer, stirring frequently for 2-3 more minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve hot over cooked pasta finished with the remainder of the cheese.

Other serving suggestions: cool and spread over toasted italian bread for a quick bruscetta, use as a pizza sauce, use as a soup base.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 31st, 2010 at 8:46 pm and is filed under DInner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.