In my opinion one of the so-called time savers that should be jettisoned from the cupboard is jarred pasta sauce. You can make a delicious sauce in less time than it takes to boil the pasta. Seriously. Last night for dinner I made puttanesca sauce. I put a pot of water on the stove to boil then made the sauce. I warmed a few tablespoons of olive oil in a 12" cast iron pan over a medium heat. I added 4 cloves of garlic which I had sliced, and cooked until it began to turn a light golden brown. Then I added about 4 minced anchovies and 6 chopped oil-cured black olives. I cooked this mixture for about 2 more minutes then added a tablespoon of capers, which I rinsed in cold water for a few seconds. Then a can of tomato puree and about a half teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.
By now the water was boiling in the other pot so I added the pasta. This gave me 8-9 minutes to cook the sauce which was plenty of time. I drained the pasta and sauced it, adding a sprinkle of Parmesan Reggiano and it was great. This really tasted like a restaurant style pasta dish and it took me no more time than I needed to boil pasta. It would be just as fast to make marinara sauce, alfredo sauce or one of several other options.
So, LambertvilleChef readers, what are some of your favorite weeknight pasta dishes to make at home?
