Pasta-Fasta

What do you do when you come home late, and Hubby and kids are waiting to have food on the table?

Third, Fourth and Fifth sisters (Yup, we are one big family!) unanimously declared, "Get take-outs!" But Hubby does not really like take-outs. (Me too!) And I was thinking I just bought this nice pack of linguini I can easily cook in 11 minutes or less... I just have to see what other ingredients I have in the fridge.

So, as I was boiling the pasta, I was chopping the garlic, tomatoes, some bell peppers, got some basil from my pot in the balcony. I also found a little amount of anchovies left in the fridge and some tomato salsa (gasp! spicy!). After cooking the pasta, I cooked the sauce, and in 15 minutes (pasta cooking time included), my family had a nice, yummy, flavorful pasta dish. Served with some bread, and with ice cream for dessert, we already have a nice simple dinner.

1 pack linguini (or any pasta of your choice), cooked according to package directions
3 T anchovies (or more if you prefer), mashed
5 T minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
5 tomatoes, seeded, chopped
6 T spicy Tomato salsa
a handful of basil leaves, shredded
8 T olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
grated parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

2. Heat up some olive oil in a pan. Saute garlic and onion until fragrant, but not burnt. Add the anchovies and tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes are softened a little.

3. Add the bell peppers and tomato salsa. Cook until the mixture boils. Then add the basil leaves. Mix and let boil for a minute. Add salt and pepper. Turn off heat. Add the rest of the olive oil. Mix well.

4. Prepare some linguini on a plate. Top with the sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese before serving. Alternately, you can mix the sauce with the pasta inside the cooking pan (with heat turned off) for easy serving, specially when preparing for kids.



This is my entry to this month's Grow Your Own event launched by Andrea of Andrea's Recipes. This monthly food blogging event celebrates the foods we grow or raise ourselves.