If you're looking for a healthy pasta dish, I present you penne all'arrabbiata, or at least... the way how I make it. I'm actually planning on making it again later this week, and when I do, I will update this post with a photo of the result. I actually use tinned, peeled tomatoes as I find that these are generally tastier than the watery pale ones they sell at the Dutch supermarkets and it's super quick and easy too.
Penne all'arrabbiata (2 portions)
Ingredients150 grams of whole grain penne
1 tin can of peeled tomatoes (mine contain about 400 grams)
1 large onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 small tin of tomato paste (mine is double concentrated 70 grams)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 red chili peppers (more or less depending on your taste)
1 tsp of paprika powder
1 tbsp of dried oregano
1 bouillon cube (it's not blasphemy, I've seen Italians do it)
1 tsp of cayenne pepper (or to your own taste)
50 ml of dry sherry
How to make itPut a large pot of water with
a lot* of salt in it to the boil on your stove. Finely chop the garlic, onion, and chili peppers. In a skillet on a medium fire, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions, garlic, and chilies until the onion becomes a bit translucent. Add the tomato paste and paprika powder and fry for a few minutes longer. Quench the heat in the pan by adding the sherry and let it evaporate for the most part, add the oregano, the peeled tomatoes, and half of the bouillon cube. Keep the other half around in case you need to fine-tune the flavour in the end. Roughly break up the tomatoes into smaller chunks with a spatula, mix the ingredients in the skillet and turn the heat to low. Let the tomato/chili mixture thicken and the tomato slowly lose structure until it becomes a sauce.
In the meantime, cook the pasta as indicated on the package. Keep on slowly stirring the sauce every now and then, and when the sauce becomes too dry, you can add a few tablespoons of the boiling pasta water to the sauce. This will fortify the flavour of the sauce, and the starchy water will make your sauce a little glossier. Keep on tasting the sauce whether the flavour develops in the right way... remember you can fine-tune with the remaining half of the bouillon cube, the pasta water, or tap water when needed. If you want some extra spiciness, you can also add the cayenne pepper at this stage.
When the pasta is done, drain it, and stir it through the sauce in the skillet. Your job is done, now comes the tasting. ;) Enjoy!
*Pasta should be boiled in highly salted water... don't be afraid of getting to much salt in your diet though as you will throw away the water and the pasta itself does not absorb much of it during cooking.
