Margherita inspired pasta
Tangy tomato sauce, creamy mozzarella, and a refreshing hit of fresh basil – these are the hallmarks of the simple but delicious pizza margherita. Recreate these flavours in a warm, slurp-worthy bowl of pasta in twenty minutes or less. If you're looking for a quick (but indulgent) Italian-inspired meal to brighten up your mid week, this one's for you.
A few key ingredients that go a long way:
Fresh pasta: up your pasta game and save a couple minutes of cooking time by using fresh pasta. Fresh pasta has a more robust, eggier taste and a springier bite compared to your regular dried pasta.
Bufala mozzarella: this is not your run-of-the-mill shredded mozzarella. Made from buffalo milk, it has a light creaminess to it that stands out on its own but doesn’t overpower a dish like typical processed cheeses. It neutralises the acidity of the tomato sauce and makes the dish more hearty and comforting. Phoon Huat and Mustafa sell bufala mozzarella pearls (grape-sized) at affordable prices that will do the job just fine.
Tomato puree: this is gives the tomato sauce its richness, as if the sauce has been stewed for a long time.
Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- 1.5 cups of canned/bottled tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp Tomato puree paste
- 4 cloves of sliced garlic
- Small handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped or sliced
- Small handful of buffalo mozzarella cheese, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp of fried chili (flakes or slices) (optional)
- Small handful of chopped parsley (optional)
- 2 tsp of chopped anchovies/olives/capers
Method:
1. Heat up a pan with a generous splash of olive oil. Immediately add in the garlic and chilli flakes, allowing them to infuse their flavours and cook as the oil heats up.
2. Once the garlic turns golden brown, add the anchovies/olives/capers and tomato puree. Fry for about 30 seconds before adding in the tomato sauce.
3. Allow to simmer on low heat. While simmering, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the parsely.
4. To a boiling pot of water (make sure it's a strong, rolling boil!) add a tablespoon or two of salt, then add in the fresh pasta. Break up the noodles with your hands as you lower them into the pot to avoid sticking. Stir every 1-2mins, letting the noodles cook for 4mins.
5. To the sauce pan, add in the mozzarella cheese and ladle of the starchy pasta water. Stir vigorously until the cheese is smoothly incorporated into the sauce.
6. When the noodles are cooked, add them to the sauce pan and stir for a minute to coat them evenly.
made with LG Pasta, available at Cold Storage Supermarkets
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