Here’s a quick and very simple culinary trick I learned from a beautiful Swiss Girl. The first time she made pasta for me like this I was blown away at how easy and delicious it turned out.
When we sat down to eat, it felt more like we were dining at some fancy restaurant in the city. However we had just returned from surfing and were starving. So it was a choice based on ease and speed at that moment.
I had a jar of Ragu sauce in the fridge as usual, for a quick pasta dish and that’s what we decided to go for. Honestly I wasn’t that excited for out-of-the-jar spaghetti but agreed it would be the fastest and easiest thing to prepare right then.
She said, “just relax and I’ll make us a delicious dinner real quick”. I was skeptical but fine with what I thought was in store.
I grew up with a professional chef as a mom and always loved being in the kitchen with her as a child. Watching her techniques and mysterious blending of unknown concoctions that I had grown to know would delight the taste buds! So, of course I couldn’t help but watch what Carina, (AKA IamMetalHeart), was doing in the kitchen.
Boil water, add salt and olive oil, then the pasta, (al dente of course!). Meanwhile warming up the Ragu in a sauce pan. I expected the usual “spice-up” but she didn’t add anything. I was surprised but bit my tongue and let her do her thing.
Boiled pasta and jarred sauce… That seemed to be it. She strained the pasta and mixed it back in with the sauce.
“Time to eat!” She said. I was giggling inside about just eating plain old pasta and sauce from a jar, thinking this is where it finished. But here’s when the magic happened. She plated the sauced up pasta, put a dollop of pesto on top, which started melting in right away creating a nice contrast with the green and red. Then topped the whole thing with arugula, shaved Parmesan cheese and a little crushed red pepper.
It looked gorgeous suddenly, like a five-star restaurant was serving this. And the taste popped with a unique twist on an all-to familiar dish. I was highly impressed and knew I’d be using this little trick for years to come.
I’ve made pasta just like this for several others now and everyone has been highly impressed. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out for you in a comment below! Or share one of your favorite pasta “hacks”.
🙂
Shopping list:
- Pasta
- Salt
- Olive oil
- Ragu sauce
- Pesto
- Arugula
- Parmesan cheese
- Crushed red pepper
Follow Carina at www.IamMetalHeart.com