The kosher link up for this month is “The One Food You Would Want If Stranded On An Island” (see below!) It was actually not hard
for me to pick the recipe. My favorite food is easily Italian – pizza, pasta, ziti, lasagna. I love it all! The best part of Italian food is the red sauce. I don’t know what it is about this sauce – the garlic, the tomatoes, the basil. I am not sure but it is a combination that I love and crave. It is also nice in that it is so, so easy to prepare. Once I realized how simple it is to make this sauce I never went back to jarred sauce (many have a lot of sugar, salt and/or preservatives). That and my husband grew up in Brooklyn and eating jarred sauce is blasphemy. Hopefully, once you try the recipe you will feel the same.
Being that I make this once a week I try to make it as healthy as possible and change it up. I will use a high fiber/high protein pasta, a whole grain pasta or a vegetable fortified pasta. I will make it with meatballs or add ground meat, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, or anything else I have in the fridge. It is a great base sauce and is also delicious on its own.
The parsley is optional and if I do not have it in the house I will skip it. I do think it adds a really nice freshness to the dish. If you are going to use the parsley you will just want to be sure that it is very finely chopped. I am more careful these days about using canned tomatoes because of BPA in the lining and have found some really nice tomato products in cartons. All the more reason to eat this sauce often 🙂
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Yield: 4-8 servings
1 box of pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 large garlic cloves, chopped (but still chunky)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
26 ounces of crushed tomatoes
5-6 large basil leaves, torn plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large skillet add olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté over medium heat until the garlic has softened, but not browned about 2-3 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes and basil. Season with salt and cracked pepper. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Cook the pasta in a pot of heavily salted boiling water according to the package directions, or to al dente. Drain pasta.
Toss the pasta with the sauce. Garnish with torn basil leaves and chopped parsley.
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