Review: Dinner for Everyone: and Pasta with one-can tomato sauce

Cookbook author and former New York Times food writer Mark Bittman is known for his simple recipes so I was excited when I finally got off the waiting list at my local library. I think his recipes are exactly what the title says. Each type of recipe is color coded (like big green dot for vegan) and there is more recipe than story. 

The problem, unfortunately for me, is that I finally was able to borrow this book just as we hit day 50 of stay at home orders in this COVID-19 pandemic. Despite stores saying that there is no food shortage, there is a variety storage. In other words, going to the store with a list is a futile exercise in want. Instead, we need to go to the store, see what is there and cook accordingly. That style of shopping and cooking is not conducive to getting excited about trying a new recipe when the recipe calls for any amount of ingredients that you do not normally buy. Sigh.  A quick glance of the ingredients, and I ended up passing by over 100 pages of recipes until I got to this one: Pasta with one-can tomato sauce (blue dot for easy) 

So simple and yummy. Dinner was a breeze and I forgot to take a picture so this is all we had for leftover.

Ingredients:

• Salt
• 4 T unsalted butter, or more as needed
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 tsp. red chile flakes, or to taste
• One 14-oz can pureed or diced tomatoes
• Pepper
• 1 lb dried pasta 
• 1/2 cup grated cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

Bring a half-full pot of water to a boil and salt it. Meanwhile in another skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and red chile flakes. Cook stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Adjust the heat so the sauce bubbles and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes thicken and you can smash the garlic a bit, 5 to 10 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and adjust the heat so the sauce stays hot but doesn't boil.

Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, then start tasting. When the pasta is tender but still has some bite, scoop out 2 cups cooking water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add the sauce and cheese to the pasta; swirl 1/2 c cooking water in the skillet to loosen every last drop of sauce and add that to the pot too. Toss with tongs to coat the noodles adding more cooking water or butter, a little at a time, to make the pasta creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning, add more cheese and serve.