Most cooks know that pasta should be cooked al dente and only lighly dressed with sauce. This is the traditional Italian way of appreciating the pasta itself. There is another tradition in Italy, though, that is quite satisfying when you’re feeling a bit more saucy.
In this recipe I made last night, I parboiled the pasta for 2 or 3 minutes, and finished it in the tomato sauce as it cooked. I made a simple sauce with onions, garlic, basil (fresh), oregano (dried), salt and pepper, pinenuts, olive oil, and a whole bag of washed spinach. I reserved the pasta cooking water to add more if it got too dry. I used half a bag of pasta for quite a lot of sauce.
The result is a nice thick sauce (partially thickened by the starch coming off the pasta) and very flavorful pasta.
This looks great – and I’ll bet it was wonderful at dinner. It good to experiment and have the results turn out fantastic.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try it with fresh, homemade pasta.