An easy, simple, satisfying recipe of Sauce-less Pasta. The lack of sauce gives other flavors and textures to have the foreground.
Years ago I had a marvelous dinner at a small restaurant in the town of Astoria, Oregon. I sat at the counter near the restaurant's owner, who also happened to also be the restaurant's chef. He single-handedly was feeding the entire restaurant from a stove/grill that frankly wasn't very big. We both started talking about eating and cooking. It was one of the most amazing dinners I have ever had, though I must admit I don't remember what it was, and a very, very enjoyable conversation.
One of the topics was simple dinners we really liked making for ourselves. One he said he liked was pasta just served with garlic, butter, and habanero chilis. Simple, to the point, and very pasta forward. I tried it when I got home and thought it was amazing.
Since then I make it every once in a while. It isn't always the same. Sometimes it is with dry sun-dried tomatoes and scallions. Sometimes I add walnuts, sometimes I don't. Some Italian parsley is always nice. I really like the pasta itself being one of the major experiences of the dish, lightly coated in oil or vegan butter, with little bursts of taste when I get to whatever the topping is.
Do be creative with this dish. Sun-dried tomatoes, oil packed, or not. Italian parsley. Fresh basil. Garlic. Scallions. Onions. Marinated artichokes. Different kinds of olives. Hot peppers. Bell peppers. Halved cherry tomatoes. Mix and match for whatever suits your fancy. The nice thing about this dish is you really can't screw it up, so experiment away!
Recipe
Sauce-less Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ pound spaghetti whole wheat
- 6.7 ounces sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
- 9.9 ounces artichokes marinated
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 jalapeños
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the instructions on the box.
- While the pasta is cooking, prepare the toppings. Chop the garlic. Seed and chop the jalapenoes. Cut the sundried tomatoes into small strips. Quarter the artichokes.
- Place a small amount of oil in a saucepan. Heat at a moderate heat until the oil shimmers. Add garlic. Cook until browned. Add the jalapenoes and cook until slightly soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until hot.
- Serve over the pasta!
Oddhack says
First! 🙂
What's your feeling on less traditional pasta types - spinach, chickpea, etc.?
Keith says
Some of them I am not too fond of, some I think are really good. Barilla has really awesome chickpea and red lentil pastas I really like. It is always a texture thing.
Debbie MacKillop says
Keith, I might leave out the peppers and add walnuts. Plus I too adore olives, especially kalamatas. Along with artichoke hearts, a lot of my fav ingredients will be in the mix. I'll let you know how it is, and thanks.