Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Pasta with Creamy Marinara

SP asked me to make a creamy marinara sauce for dinner, but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do, so when I got home I just started cooking on autopilot. The result was sensational, hands-down one of the best pasta sauces I've ever made.


To make the sauce I finely chopped one small onion and grated two large cloves of garlic. Those went into a pot with some oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano to cook down. I processed the whole tomatoes until they were smooth and added them to the pot once the onions had softened. I adjusted the seasonings and then let the whole thing simmer for awhile. SP was late getting home so I ended up turning it off since I didn't want it to get too thick. Right before we ate I added the cream (maybe 1/2 cup, I didn't measure) just to warm through.

I served the pasta with my new favorite pasta shape - cavatappi. Whenever I see it on sale I buy a few boxes. A grating of Pecorino cheese and some chopped fresh basil completed the plate. The flavors were outstanding. There was a nice kick from the red pepper flakes, but the cream tamed it. The tomatoes had a fantastic flavor and the fresh basil really brought it all together. We could have eaten the whole pot in one sitting, but we restrained ourselves.
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12 comments:

  1. Cavatappi one of my favorute shapes as well :)

    I may make this for dinner tomorrow. I have a 10k that I need to carboload for. Ok, so I don't really need to carboload, but I do have that 10k and this would give me a good boost :)

    Thanks for the idea!

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  2. I also like cavatappi!

    This looks yummy!

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  3. This looks great. You've given me an idea for dinner tomorrow!

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  4. longhair - Good for you running a 10k! That's awesome. :)

    Liz - Thanks! It's good to know so many people like cavatappi. I especially like it in mac & cheese.

    Jenn - Thanks! Sometimes the simplest meals can be the best. I was shocked that I made something so good from ingredients I always have on hand.

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  5. I also recently discovered cavatappi! I know different shapes don't taste any differently, but they're more fun! I also love campanelle - little trumpets.

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  6. I don't have a 10k like longhairman, but I'm gonna carbload anyway. You never know ;-)

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  7. Nope you didn't get deleted - I've just been flat out trying to get my essay written. I've actually been reading your blog via its feed (Blogger does it automatically for you) and then marking it unread so when I have some time I can come back and leave comments.

    Once tomorrow is over and I've handed in my essay, I'm going to celebrate with a bit of blog-hopping! :P

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  8. I am trying so hard to catch up. Work has been a nightmare and I haven't looked at blogs for days. I think I'm going through withdrawals.

    Anyhoo.

    Looks like there's another pasta shape I need to try. Fun. :) Also, your sauce sounds dead on perfect. Way to go!

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  9. Tara - I actually think different shapes have different flavors...nothing too crazy, but angelhair definitely tastes different to me then cavatappi. I love experimenting with different shapes. I'll have to try the campanelle sometime. :)

    Wilson - My thoughts exactly!

    Katie - Oh good! I was worried when I hadn't seen you around. I hope you get that essay done soon so you can celebrate. :)

    Melissa - Oh no! I'm sorry work has been so crazy. Boy do I know that feeling.

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  10. This looks like a great summertime pasta dish - classic and simple! :)

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  11. This is just like how I make my vodka sauce. The heavy cream makes the dish heavenly. This meal was a staple of mine in college, it was the BEST hangover remedy. :)

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  12. This looks yummy! I love the cavatappi too but its a little hard to find sometimes.

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