PENNE ARRABIATA

So my friend used this very lovely pix as her display picture on BBM and my love for food was awakened.

The thing is I really love pasta and so I am always excited to find new ways to make and eat them. I asked my friend what the food was called and if she was able to swallow it (you know some of these our western dishes aren't exactly African taste bud friendly). She replied it was an Italian dish called 'Penne Arrabiata' and that it was quite spicy so eating wont be hard on me. She further explained that in spite of the 'big name' it bears, it is basically pasta in tomato sauce.

Yours truly then went online to search for recipes for this dish, hoping and praying that the ingredients will be easily accessible in Warri. So this is what I found that Penne is an Italian pasta that looks like the second pix

I started wondering where I would see that, cos I had never seen pasta shaped like that. I decided however to use average macaroni sold around but guess what? I found penne just around my neigbourhood!. The lady said she was intrigued by the shape and hoped

Penne 250 grams•Olive oil 3 tablespoons•Tomatoes5 medium•Garlic,chopped 10 cloves•Red chillies,crushed 1 teaspoon•Onion ,sliced 2 medium•Tomato puree 1/2 cup•Salt to taste•Oregano 1/2 teaspoon•Fresh parsley 1 tablespoon - See more at: http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/penne-arrabiata.aspx#sthash.Ae8xNbrD.dpuf

to cook it for herself, she just left it somewhere in the store until when she was ready. I had a running battle with her, cos she refused to sell on the grounds that she doesn't even remember how much she bought it, but of course I am very persuasive so I won. Arrabiata on the other hand means angry in Italian and it describes the spicy, hot nature of the arrabiata sauce used in preparing penne arrabiata.
There were a lot of recipes online, most of which had ingredients I could pick around with the exception of two or three items but i managed all the same,
So here is the recipe I came up with

INGREDIENTS

• Penne------250 grams (The pasta I used is MORO PASTA)

• Olive oil------3 tablespoons

• Tomatoes, chopped------3 medium

• Garlic,chopped------ 4 cloves

• Red pepper,crushed------ 1 teaspoon

• Onion ,sliced -------2 medium

• Tomato puree(tinned tomatoes) -------1 small tin

• Salt to taste

•  Scent leaves (Basil)              

METHOD
Boil penne in plenty of water with salt and a teaspoon of oil till al dante which means till just cooked. Drain and set aside to cool. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and sauté for half a minute. Add red pepper and continue to sauté. Add onions and sauté till onions turn soft and translucent. Add chopped tomato and mix. Add tomato puree and mix. Add salt and scent leaf and mix well. Cook for two to three minutes till the mixture gets a sauce consistency. Spoon sauce over the pasta and toss (it isn't advisable to use spoon or spatula to stir as the penne will break). Serve hot.

RESULT
I had a very nice dish, quite hot. However, I noticed that I would have preferred it if I just spooned the sauce over the pasta and served directly without attempting to mix. I kinda lost the burst of flavours I had when I tasted the sauce without the pasta.
On the whole, I enjoyed my meal. As you prepare for Valentine's day, a good homemade Italian dish for that special man could go a long way. Enjoy!

Boil penne in plenty of water with salt and a teaspoon of oil till al dante which means till just cooked. Drain and set aside to cool. Blanch tomatoes, peel, remove seeds and roughly chop. Heat one and a half tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add garlic and sauté for half a minute. Add red chilli flakes and continue to sauté. Add onions and sauté till onions turn soft and translucent. Add tomato concasse and mix. Add tomato puree and mix. Add salt and oregano and mix well. Cook for two to three minutes till the mixture gets a sauce consistency. Heat a little of the remaining olive oil in another pan, add some herbs add one portion of penne and toss. Add sauce as required and toss. You should not use a spoon or spatula to mix since it may cause the penne to break. Serve hot garnished with parsley.
- See more at: http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/penne-arrabiata.aspx#sthash.Ae8xNbrD.dpuf

 

Penne 250 grams•Olive oil 3 tablespoons•Tomatoes5 medium•Garlic,chopped 10 cloves•Red chillies,crushed 1 teaspoon•Onion ,sliced 2 medium•Tomato puree 1/2 cup•Salt to taste•Oregano 1/2 teaspoon•Fresh parsley 1 tablespoon - See more at: http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/penne-arrabiata.aspx#sthash.Ae8xNbrD.dpuf