Here was my question…”What do you do when you have left over chicken from your BBQ’s? and you’re Italian???” And here is my answer, “You make chicken salad…hold the mayo!”
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Itlaian
Authenic Pasta Arrabiata Recipe…from my mom
As a child, I took a lot of things for granted…and one of the biggest things I took for granted was my mother. Since mother’s day was Sunday and being that my mother passed away almost 19 years ago, I thought what a great way to pay tribute to her.
You see in my early 20’s, my mother invited me to go to Italy with her to visit my grandparents. I am a first generation American and I had not met all of my extended family members so it would have been a great trip. At the time, I had a job that would not allow for me to take time off and I had a very active life style that needed that job. My sister Adriana went with my mother and I know it was a memorable trip for both of them and I know just how much my mother loved and neede that trip.
This simple recipe came from a cousin of my mothers, he had a pot of sauce (or gravy as we always referred to it) on the stove and was preparing for an Italian pasta dinner. My mom “accidentally” knocked the pot off the stove top and while she felt really bad about it, the outcome was that she learned how to make this easy and delicious sauce. So for Mothers day, this year, I made it in memory of my mom and so thought I’d share this authentic, simple and tasty dish with you.
Pasta Arrabiata
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper flakes (more if you like it hot or less if you don't)
- 1 small Onion, sliced thin
- 4 cloves Garlic, chopped (I do a larger chop for this recipe)
- 10 Roma tomatoes, cut in half and seeds removed (I only had 7 and it still worked but 10 better)
- 3 tablespoons Italian Parsley
- 1 pound Penne Pasta
- 1 cup Pasta water (if needed)
- Parmesan cheese
- salt to taste
Directions
- Prepare a pot of water for your pasta. Follow the instructions on the package of your pasta. By the time your pasta is cooked through, your sauce will be ready to enjoy as well.
- In a skillet, place olive oil in pan and add your onions. Cook onions until they become tender and translucent 5-7 minutes.
- While your onions are cooking, cut your tomatoes in half, width way, and squeeze out all the seeds and juice. Do no throw away the juice or seeds as you may need them later on in making your sauce.
- When your onions are almost cooked through, add your red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and stir. Place tomatoes cut side down in your pan and don't touch them! Cover your pan (if the liquids start to evaporate to much, add some of the seeds and juice and then put the cover back on your pan. Cook for about 5 minutes. At this point your tomatoes should be nice and tender, I then take the back of a wooden spoon and I squish the tomatoes down.
- Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of water (if needed), add your sauce on top of your pasta (add the pasta water if it's too thick) sprinkle with Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese.
- This dish can be served hot or cold.
Recipe belongs to Patty @MmGood.com, please contact me to use for personal use