Monday, June 30, 2014

Easy capellini pomodoro and/or bruschetta

This could be about an 80% "pantry" meal. All you need to buy fresh is the garlic and basil. You could technically get away with dried basil and garlic from a jar... but those are serious flavor downgrades (whereas canned tomatoes are not a bad sub for fresh tomatoes, flavorwise).

For bruschetta, skip the pasta and in fact all of the cooking; just mix together all of these raw ingredients, let it set up a couple hours to swap flavors around (as Mark Twain would say) and then serve on rounds of toasted French bread. I know bread freezes well... does toast freeze well? That would get you a step closer to the bruschetta being a "pantry" appetizer.
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 oz angel hair pasta, cooked
Cook garlic in olive oil till tender.
  • Two 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
Add tomatoes and pepper to pan; toss till heated through.
Put this mixture atop the cooked pasta with:
  • 2 c fresh chopped basil leaves
  • 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar