Blogger-Inspired Pasta with Sardines

Last month, my friend Bianca wrote about a Spicy Anchovy Pasta dish she made in her kitchen.  I really liked the idea of anchovies with pasta and her dish recently inspired my own quick pasta dish with sardines.  After a long day of work and a committee meeting in the evening, I wanted to make a quick dinner on Wednesday night that would be still be healthy and delicious.  I remembered Bianca's dish and decided to make my own version.

Bret had an equally long and busy day but he wanted to help with dinner.  Over text messages on the T, I asked him to get a pot of salted water boiling and to put together a simple side salad with romaine, grape tomatoes and cucumbers.

When I got home, I got to work and gathered my ingredients.  I didn't take exact measurements so the below is an estimate of measurements used:

Please forgive the flash photography. 
I was too tired to set up proper lighting.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Tin of boneless sardines canned in olive oil
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
• 5 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
• No yolk egg noodles (you can really use any pasta)
• Parmesan cheese (to taste)

I warmed up the Dutch oven on the stove with the olive oil.  I slowly added the capers, sardines with the olive oil, tomatoes and garlic to the pan at five minute intervals.  I lowered the heat and put a cover on the Dutch oven.  I mixed these ingredients from time to time but let them really break down in the pan and let the flavors come together.  When the capers and tomatoes began to burst open, I then seasoned the sauce with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for more flavor.

When the pasta was almost done cooking, I drained the pasta but reserved a cup of the pasta water.  I added the water to the sardine mixture and let the sauce cook on high uncovered to thicken up.  I then added the pasta to the sauce and gave everything a mix.

The pasta was served with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

This pasta dish was so warm and comforting.  The capers and tomatoes added a nice acidity to contrast with the sardines.  Bret mentioned that a squeeze of lemon juice would have been a welcome addition to the dish to add even more acidity and I couldn't disagree. 

I normally take step by step photo instructions of my meals but I was just too exhausted.  But I guess that is why I liked this dinner so much - it was so simple and easy to make!

Do you cook dinner after a long day or do you order out?  If you cook, what do you like to make that is quick and easy?

Another Pantry Meal - Ziti Picchi Pacchi

 

Last week I went to my friend Gina's house and showed her how to throw together a pantry meal. Her pantry is well stocked and it was easy to come up with a quick dish. Gina and I like a lot of the same foods and like me she has kalamata olives in her fridge. I realize that I use them a lot and you all must be tired of seeing them in my recipes. If you don't like them leave them out and put in whatever you like, maybe some artichoke hearts! Yum! I call this picchi pacchi because it's made with diced tomatoes and basil and I've seen variations of this but they all contain diced tomatoes.

Gina and I have different preferences when it comes to pasta. I will always choose lined pasta such as penne over ziti. I just feel like the sauce sticks better because it fills up the the ridges. It really doesn't matter though, this dish was delicious!

Ziti with Pantry Sauce


Ingredients:

1 lb pasta
1 medium onion, diced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (Dorat frozen cubes from Trader Joes)
2 teaspoons of chopped basil (Dorat frozen cubes from Trader Joes)
2 - 16 ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
Splash of white wine
extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:


In a medium saucepan saute onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil. Add garlic and basil and stir (frozen cubes will melt and cook quickly). Add a spalsh of white wine and let the alcohol cook out (about a minute or so). Add tomatoes, capers and olives, stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 20- 30 minutes. About halfway into cooking time, add pasta to boiling salted water. When pasta is al dente combine it in the pan with sauce. Toss to combine sauce with pasta.