Thursday 13 March 2008

Penne In Tomato Basil Sauce


how can something so simple like this dish be so irresistible? maybe simply because all of us just love to eat pasta, with tomato sauce of course. this is the first time i made a pasta dish with penne. never tempted to try it before, we always go for spaghetti or lasagna. i bought a packet of penne last 2 weeks. i wanted to try out madam lemongrass's recipe of alfredo pasta, but never got around to make them. the heavy cream that i bought to make alfredo sauce was utilised for creamy mushroom sauce eaten with grilled chicken.
my kitchen has run out of supplies. but i have plenty of tomatos & basil in the fridge. i don't know what to do with them, but i must use them before it become rotten. so i surf for tomato & basil recipe and eureka... i found the tomato basil sauce recipe at allrecipe.com. yeah i found plenty other recipes too i.e. stuffed chicken basil, grilled chicken breast with basil and so on. but i don't have chicken in my fridge, and i have a packet of unused penne. so penne in tomato basil sauce would be perfect for tonite's dinner. ;-)
as for the ingredients, it is so simple. all i need were chopped garlic, 4 tomatos, fresh basil, fresh tarragon, fresh thyme, some dried herbs, pepper, salt & a pinch of sugar. and remember, always use olive oil . sugar can be omitted if the tomatos are ripe enough. first, sauteed the garlic until golden, add diced tomatos & fresh and dried herbs at once. let it simmer, until the tomatos soften and dissolved. when the sauce thicken add seasoning, adjust the taste to your liking and ready. the tomatos does plays an important role in this recipe though. i used momotaro which is not really suitable to make a tasty pasta sauce; it's hard texture and guava pink color really didn't do justice to the sauce. but that's all i have, and still taste good so i make do with it this time.
when fahmi and yaya screaming for a second & third helping, and hubby keep on returning to the kitchen, i knew by then that this simple recipe is worth reproduce! so, i guess we can stop hitting the counter for canned pasta sauce for a long long time, yeah?