Tuesday, June 5, 2012

my less serious momma: easy rigatoni

I recently began a new series called my less serious momma, where my mom shares her tried and true recipes in her own words and from her own perspective. 

Her latest recipes are to the theme, which she devised herself, of Red Hot Momma. Brilliant. And, let's not forget her first recipe was red beet eggs - how fitting! First up, a red hot easy rigatoni - from my mom to your table.

Take it away, mom...

--

I think I’ve worked most of my life so I’ve always looked for fast, easy, and tasty. Long ago a friend told me the secret of red sauce was to brown the tomato paste, and thus began my long repertoire of easy red recipes. Easy to adapt to carnivores and herbivores, my classics are easy to strip of meat, a twist learned when my son married a vegetarian.  

 
Red Recipe #1.  Easy Rigatoni

Redlight warning—this makes a lot so be prepared to freeze or eat it three times. I roast zucchini and yellow squash and onions for the repeat dish and simply toss it in the sauce to serve. 

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
3 crushed clove garlic
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
 1 ½ tsp oregano
1 ½ tsp basil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
rigatoni
grated Parmesan to taste

Saute garlic and onion in heated olive oil, about 10 minutes. Add tomato taste and fry another 3-5 minutes. Add everything else, except rigatoni and simmer about 30 minutes. Cook rigatoni, toss w sauce, add cheese, eat. Consider wearing an apron.

 
Here’s the ingredients, easy to keep on hand.


Lightly sautéed onions.


Frying the tomato paste.


Enjoying with lightly browned garlic bread (just butter and garlic salt on Italian bread).

--

Thanks, mom. And, I must say - I've made this dish and it is, indeed, both easy and delicious. Stay tuned for the next red-themed recipe, Easy Eggplant Parmesan.

22 comments:

  1. omg this sounds DELISH! Bookmarking for after contest prep or carb-up days!!

    It's easy to see where you got your love for food & your gentle writing style, Sara!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. great for a carbloading day! thank you for your kind words about food/writing. my mom is a huge source of inspiration for many things for me.

      Delete
  2. Nothing beats recipes from a mother's kitchen :) I can't wait to see what she has in store with the eggplant parm as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. this is so true - hence, the series! and the eggplant parm is fantastic - can't wait to share it!

      Delete
  3. This looks awesome! Your momma never fails to provide something delicious looking :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love that your mom is writing posts! I need to get my mom to do this. she's a great cook too. :)

    Looking forward to that eggplant parm - I'm a little addicted to eggplant.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, laura. you should get your mom to post! so much fun to work together on things. you will love her easy eggplant - a great thing to feed your addiction.

      Delete
  5. Yum! Love that your mom is guesting, such a cute idea! This looks delishhhh!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, anna! this is really great sauce. something about letting the sauce simmer really gives it such a depth of flavor. forget bottled marinara!

      Delete
  6. Loving this series, it is such a great idea! :)
    This sauce looks sooo sooo good! And who doesnt love leftovers?? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks, shannon. :) leftovers are.the.best.

      Delete
  7. I love tomato sauce! My aunt got me these delicious raviolis for my birthday- I'll have to try your sauce on them

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you should do that! this is SO much better than any store bought marinara sauce. let me know if you try it - would love to hear how you like it!

      Delete
  8. AW I love this post! What a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm drooling. SO delicious!!!!

    Jen@HealthyFoodandFamily

    ReplyDelete
  10. This looks soo good! I love this series, too! You mom sounds like a fabulous cook :)

    ReplyDelete