Only the best of the best practical stuff everyone can easily make.
Basic Pasta Recipe + Pasta Basics
Use quality pasta and the best organic ingredients for everything. Use quality Parmesan (and/or Romano, Pecorino) cheese.
Boil pasta in salted water (no olive oil). Use as much salt as you like without over-salting. When pasta is ready (it should be slightly
undercooked), drain it and put it into heated pan with sauce for a minute right away (do not rinse pasta with cold water and do not let pasta sit).
Basic Sauce
Put some quality extra virgin olive oil and some butter into a frying pan, start warming it up after you start boiling pasta.
Start chopping (you can chop into large pieces if you prefer):
Olives. 2-4 per person. Any olives are fine, so try using different olives.
Some Capers.
Some Garlic. Skip garlic if you don't like it.
Peeled Tomatoes. 2-3 very small (or one regular size) tomatoes per person. To peel tomatoes, first boil them for a minute, then it will
be easy to remove skin.
Put everything above into a sauce pan with olive oil and butter 2 minutes before pasta is ready, turn it up to medium, and stir occasionally.
Chop some basil.
Grade a good amount of Parmesan (and/or Romano, Pecorino) cheese.
After pasta is done, drain it and put it into the sauce pan. Add chopped basil and graded cheese. Cook everything on medium for a minute and stir
occasionally.
That's it. The pasta is done.
Pesto Pasta Sauce with Nuts
Serving 6.
2 cups packed fresh Basil leaves (approx. 2 oz).
1/2 cup fresh Parsley leaves (optional).
1/3 cup extra virgin Olive Oil.
1/2 cup (more if you like) finely chopped Nuts (walnuts and/or pine nuts, macadamias, pecans, pistachio, roasted peanuts, cashews, almonds)
2 cloves Garlic, minced or crushed.
1/2 cup (or more, why not) grated Parmesan Cheese (and/or Romano, Pecorino) - the real thing por favor, not cheapo
stuff sold in pasta aisles.
2 tablespoons softened Butter (optional).
1/2 teaspoon Salt (optional).
Directions: Mix Basil, Parsley, Nuts, Garlic in a blender (or you can finely chop everything by hand), then slowly add olive oil and keep mixing,
then add cheese, butter, salt at the end and mix again.
Make Pasta from scratch in 5 min
You need 1 egg + 100g of flour.
Plus blender and pasta maker (they are as cheap as $30). Or you can take your time and use Rolling Pin.
