recipe
Wondering what to do with all those boxes of penne pasta in your pantry? We have a bright idea. This week You! collaborates with Kausar Ahmed, founder and CEO of ‘Kitchen Crafts’ and her recently launched food website ‘Happy Belly World’. She shares her delicious recipe of ‘Spicy Tomato Penne Pasta’. Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes 2 cups
- Extra virgin olive oil (divided) 3 tbsp
- Salt (divided) 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper (divided) 1/2 tsp
- Onion (small, finely chopped) 1
- Tomatoes (roughly chopped) 1 1/2 cups
- Mushrooms (sliced) 1 cup
- Paprika 2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes (crushed) 1 tsp
- Garlic (finely chopped) 1 tsp
- Milk 1 cup
- Penne pasta 3 cups
- Basil leaves (torn) 1/2 cup
Method
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Toss cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, then place in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 90 minutes, taking care not to brown. The tomatoes should be like a juicy sun-dried tomato, but not browned. You can do this ahead of time.
- When the tomatoes are almost done, heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sautŽ for 60-90 seconds until fragrant. Add the garlic, paprika, pepper flakes, and remaining salt and pepper. Add the chopped tomatoes and let it cook for 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Add mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and milk.
- At the same time, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer while the pasta cooks.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute until ‘al dente’. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.
- Add the just undercooked pasta to the milk-tomato sauce and cook, stirring the entire time to finish cooking the pasta. Add pasta water, a tablespoon or two at a time, as needed to bring the sauce together.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, as needed and add the torn basil leaves. Toss again and serve!
Image: Maryam Ashraf of Marsha Photography