One Pot Tomato & Mascarpone Pasta
Super easy one-pot dish for those days you don't feel like doing lots of cooking & washing up. Easily adapted for fussy eaters, just swap the spinach for their favourite veg. It is just a simple creamy pasta in tomato sauce.
Prep time: 10 minutes / Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
500g dried pasta
2 tbsps oil
2 red onions, finely chopped
4–5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp dried basil
800g of tomato passata or tinned chopped tomatoes
1 litre boiling water
150g fresh spinach, shredded
30g butter (optional if you like a richer sauce)
100g mascarpone
Salt & pepper
METHOD:
1. Heat up the oil in a large saucepan and cook the chopped onions until soft.
2. Add the crushed garlic & dried basil and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, salt & pepper and bring to a gentle simmer.
4. Now add the dried pasta and boiling water. Don't worry if it looks too watery, as the pasta cooks it will absorb the water.
5. Bring to the boil and gently simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked, and the sauce has thickened. If it goes too dry and the pasta is still not cooked just add another drop of boiling water.
6. Add the spinach and butter and stir until the spinach is wilted.
7. Finally, add the mascarpone and stir until it melts. You should now have a yummy thick, creamy sauce.
TIPS:
✔ Lovely dish served with a side salad.
✔ Use different Italian herbs like oregano or any mixed Italian herbs that you might have in the cupboard. Alternatively, fresh herbs will be lovely too.
✔ Switch the mascarpone for cream cheese.
✔ For extra flavour you could use stock instead of water.
