Tomatopastawitholives Recipes

PASTA PUTTANESCA

Steps:

• Cook the spaghetti al dente (it should have a bite to it) in a small amount of well-salted water. Reserve about a ½ cup of the pasta cooking water (!).
• Prepare the ingredients: finely chop the garlic (do not use a garlic press), roughly chop the anchovies, drain and rinse the capers, and cut the olives in half.
• Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan, add the garlic, chili flakes, and anchovies, cook over medium-low heat, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the olives, capers, crushed tomatoes/passata, and pasta cooking water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes (stirring from time to time) until the sauce is thickened. After this time, season the sauce lightly with salt and pepper. Be careful with adding salt, because anchovies, olives, and capers are already salty. Take the pan off the heat.
• Add the cooked pasta to the pan, toss with the sauce.
• Sprinkle with chopped parsley, grated parmesan, and serve immediately.
• Enjoy!

EASY OLIVE OIL, TOMATO, AND BASIL PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In a large bowl, gently toss the cooked pasta, tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and basil. Season with salt and pepper.

SPAGHETTI WITH OLIVES AND TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil. When water comes to a boil, add pasta, stirring constantly for the first minute to help prevent spaghetti from sticking together. Cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• In a large saute pan, heat oil. When almost smoking, add olives and red pepper flakes. Saute for 3 minutes over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and carefully pour in tomato sauce and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Drain pasta in a colander, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water. Add pasta to the sauce and toss to coat completely. Add pasta water if you need to thin out the sauce a bit. Plate pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and basil.
• In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

TOMATO AND GARLIC PASTA

Steps:

• Place tomatoes in a kettle, and cover with cold water. Bring just to the boil. Pour off water, and cover again with cold water. Peel. Cut into small pieces.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
• In a large skillet or saute pan, saute the garlic in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. The garlic should just become opaque, not brown. Stir in the tomato paste. Immediately stir in the tomatoes, and salt and pepper. Reduce heat, and simmer until the pasta is ready; add the basil.
• Drain the pasta, but do not rinse in cold water. Toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, and then mix into the sauce. Reduce the heat as low as possible. Keep warm, uncovered, for about 10 minutes when it is ready to serve. Garnish generously with fresh Parmesan cheese.
• VARIATIONS: Saute fresh quartered mushrooms with the garlic, or add shoestring zucchini along with the tomato.

SPAGHETTI WITH CHERRY TOMATO & BLACK OLIVE SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook the pasta following pack instructions in salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a bowl with the oil, basil, olives, capers, lemon zest and juice, and a pinch of salt and mix together.
• Drain the pasta, then return to the pan. Add the tomato mixture and mix again to combine. Serve with the cheese sprinkled on top.

TOMATO AND OLIVE PENNE

Steps:

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne according to package instructions until al dente, about 13 minutes. Drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until just golden, about 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes.
• Add penne, olives, parsley, and 1/4 cup Parmesan to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired.

PASTA WITH TOMATOES, CAPERS, OLIVES AND BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Begin heating a large pot of water for the pasta. Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the sliced garlic over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan or skillet. Cook, stirring often, until the garlic turns golden, about two minutes. Do not let it take on any more color than this. Remove the garlic slices with a slotted spoon and discard, then add the bread crumbs to the pan. Turn the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until the bread crumbs are crisp. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
• Return the pan to medium heat, and add the remaining olive oil, the red pepper flakes and the minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds until the garlic smells fragrant, and add the tomatoes, capers and olives. Bring to a simmer, and simmer until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the spaghetti. Cook al dente, following the cooking recommendations on the package but checking about a minute before the suggested time. Drain, and toss with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and parsley on top, toss again briefly and serve, passing the Parmesan at the table.