marinara Archives - Purple Cinnamon

Spaghetti in Marinara and Fresh Basil

Sure, you wouldn’t need a recipe for a basic marinara sauce for your bowl of spaghetti. But I wanted to share this anyway because it tasted great. Lots of garlic and good tomatoes make for a simple yet delicious sauce. Fresh basil gives the dish freshness. I added some dried thyme and paprika as well. Tossing the cooked spaghetti in this sauce and topping it with fresh basil and grated cheese turned a dull midweek day lunch into a delicious meal. Bowl-lickable is what I’d call it.

Penne in Marinara

Valentine’s Day. Nip in the air. These definitely ask for a hot pasta dish….Or maybe it’s just easy to make and I don’t need to run to the market to get a thousand ingredients to cook something ‘special’.

Ingredients:
Penne – a cup
Olive oil – 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp
Tomato – 4 large ones chopped
Garlic – 4 pods chopped
Basil leaves – 4 or more if you’re like me or like me

Method:
1. Cook the tomatoes in 2 tbsp hot olive with the garlic.
2. Cool and puree it in a blender.
3. In the meanwhile let the pasta cook – 10 mins in salt water or till cooked.
4. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan and tip the tomato sauce in it.
5. Add salt and basil leaves.
6. Tip the cooked pasta in and mix well.

Serve with garlic bread and some love.

PS: I grated some cheddar over it. It’s OK. You can too. I won’t tell anyone.