“A man taking basil from a woman will love her always.” Sir Thomas Moore
What happens when you get a handful of fresh basil? We make pasta!
As I didn’t have enough to make a garlicky pesto sauce, I made my own version of a sauce that comes somewhere in between an aglio olio and a pomodoro. And it’s not even a sauce in a sauce kind of sense; its chunkier, yet coats each piece of pasta just as well. I’m pretty sure there must be a sexy sounding Italian name for this kind of sauce, I’m just not sure what – any volunteers?
The key to making this dish is slow and patient cooking of the garlic – something that is really difficult for me. I also add in a few spoons of the pasta water to emulsify the sauce. I use no cream or milk, but do add a good helping of grated fresh Parmesan.
This is a great dish for lunch or dinner and kids tend to love it just as well. If you need the veggie portion added in, throw in some broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, peas… whatever you please.
The best part of this dish is the fresh basil – no amount of dried basil can compensate. Tear the leaves a bit before stirring into the sauce to get the optimum flavour into the tomatoes.
About:
If you choose to add some veggies, add them into the pan after the garlic and onions are well cooked. You can load up the creaminess by adding some cream (around 200ml) into the sauce and for a lower-calorie version, some skim milk (about ½ to 1 cup). Both are to be added into the sauce once the tomatoes are well cooked. Opt for whole-wheat pasta if you wish.
