Midnight Pasta

Last night, as I got in around midnight, feeling starving hungry, I raided the cupboards looking for something that I could quickly throw in the microwave. My attempt at locating anything instantly edible failed, so instead I reverted to an old favourite, pasta with tomato sauce. In reality it is not much more time-consuming than a microwavable meal, but I think it’s infinitely more tasty and nutritious. The recipe below feeds two hungry people.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small red onion

1 teaspoon ground sea salt

½ teaspoon mixed dried herbs

1 clove garlic

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 ½ tablespoons tomato puree

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 pinch of sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

freshly ground pepper

150g pasta

2 medium sized carrots

75g butternut squash

½ red pepper

75g broccoli

grated cheese

Finely chop the onion, and add to a saucepan with some gently heated oil in it. Add the salt and herbs now, as the onion soaks up a lot of flavour during the first few minutes of cooking. Chop the garlic, and add to the onion. Leave to sauté on low heat for a few minutes until the onion is soft. Now add the tomatoes, and bring to the boil. After simmering for a couple of minutes, add the tomato puree, vinegar and sugar. These last three ingredients bring a depth of flavour to the sauce.

Leave the sauce to simmer, stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. Just before it’s ready to serve, add oregano and ground pepper.

While the sauce simmers, prepare the pasta and vegetables; Fill a saucepan with water, add the pasta, and turn the heat on. Chop the carrots, squash, pepper and broccoli as finely as you can, and add these to the pasta. Add a drop of oil. Leave to boil until soft.

Drain the pasta & vegetables, and serve with the sauce and grated cheese.