Food: Pasta Dish for Funerals and Birthdays
After the funeral march last Saturday, we headed to Elaine and Suyin's house where I slaved away in the kitchen for the belated birthday lunch. The menu in mind was pasta with tomato vodka sauce and couscous salad. But since I couldn't find couscous in Shopwise, we ordered pizza instead. I got the recipe from epicurious.com, but I slightly modified it and used onions and added a bit of tomato paste. After eating, they watched Run Lola Run and I took a nap.
1 35 ounce Italian plum tomatoes
1 pound penne (I used the spirals)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, sliced finely
1 large white onion, sliced finely
1/2 cup vodka
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1/4 tomato paste
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
chopped parsley
ground black pepper
italian seasoning/herbs
Instructions:
1. Boil pasta according to package directions.
2. Cook garlic and onions in olive oil. Add pepper flakes. When the onions are soft and translucent, pour in the plum tomatoes (coarsely chopped) with the liquid.
3. When the tomatoes have boiled, pour vodka and simmer. Add parsley and other seasonings.
4. Add cream to thicken. Then cheese. At the last minute, add butter. Mix with the pasta.
5. Eat. Good for six