Simple and Easy Pasta

This is a very easy and quick recipe. It takes about 20min and tastes great. I try to avoid readymade sauces as much as possible and hence this simple marinara tastes fresh and delicious. It is also free of any preservatives that are usually found in store bought sauces.

Ingredients:

Angel Hair Pasta - 8 oz
Tomatoes (diced and stored in juice) - 1 can
Basil (dried) - 1 tbsp
Carrots (sliced) - 2
Capers - 1 tbsp
Onion (chopped) - 1
Garlic (finely chopped) - 6
Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - as needed
Pepper - as needed
Chilli flakes - 1 tsp (optional)


Method:

Heat olive oil in a pan and add chopped onions and garlic. Once the onions turn translucent add sliced carrots and cook on medium heat. After about 5 minutes add the diced tomatoes along with the juice and let it cook in medium heat, till the tomatoes turn mushy (about 15 min). Add capers, dried basil, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and leave it on low heat. In the meantime cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Remember to add salt to the water, before adding the pasta. Once its cooked, drain and add it to the sauce pot and heat if for about 2 min. Sometimes I add a bit of the drained water to the sauce, if the sauce becomes too thick. Serve it with freshly grated parmesan cheese. We usually avoid cheese so I skipped the cheese. You can make a bigger batch of the sauce and store the remaining in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Variation: Grilled vegetables like eggplant, squash or different color peppers or grilled meat can be added to the pasta.