Penne Pasta in Arabiatta Sauce

I am a big fan of pasta and I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful, handsome and  intelligent husband who is a fantastic cook (by now, you've probably guessed that Vinay is typing this post) and can make pasta so good that it's almost foodgasmic. We've had pasta on so many past dates that we've bonded over this lovely Italian recipe.

So I demand pasta from him almost every other day. And he gladly obliges because it's so easy to cook. 

Penne Pasta in Arabiatta Sauce

Here's a quick guide on how to make pasta for 2 people.

You'll need:

- Penne Pasta - 200 grams. 

- Onion - 1 large. 

- Tomato purée - 3 cups.

- Garlic paste - 2 tbsp.

- Black pepper powder - 1 tbsp.

- Arabiatta Sauce - 1.5 cup.

- Salt - to taste.

- Tabasco - 2 tsp.

- Worcestershire Sauce - 3 tsp.

- Whipped Cream - 1 cup.

- Black and green olives sliced - 15-20 pieces.

- Cheese - 3 cubes.

Now, you can use any pasta you like - macaroni, penne, fusili, even spaghetti. But penne pasta works best because the gravy fills inside the tubular pasta pieces, making it really chunky and tasty. 

1. Boil 2 litres of water and put the penne pasta in this for about 10 minutes. 

2. Drain the water from the pasta out completely. Do not add cool water to make it cool quickly. Let pasta cool naturally else it will become very soggy.

3. In a non-stick pan, put in paste of garlic, onion and put on butter and heat till the onion changes colour. 

4. Pour tomato purée in this pan; add black pepper powder and salt and stir on a low flame for about 10-12 minutes.

5. In the paste, put Tabasco, Arabiatta sauce, Worcestershire sauce and keep on low flame for another 5-7 minutes.

6. Add pasta in this mixture along with the sliced olives and mix well.

7. Grate the cubes of cheese on top as garnish and serve. 

Pasta transports us. It takes us on a trip around the world in a different time. Of places that have those small road side cafes on cobbled streets and the main squares, where little brown wooden tables and chairs rest in the shades of umbrellas opened up. And where broad hats with feathers and waistcoats with pocket-watches in them could well be the fashion of the day.

This recipe is to such places and times. Boun Appetito!