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How to make mouthwatering, pumped-up pasta with just the things in your pantry
How to make mouthwatering, pumped-up pasta with just the things in your pantry
Irene JiangMar 17, 2020, 01:50 IST
I'm the resident taste tester at Business Insider, and my normal job involves eating out.
But like many Americans, the coronavirus epidemic has now confined me to my apartment.
So instead of going out to restaurants and tasting their food, I'll be sharing some of my favorite recipes made mostly with shelf-stable pantry staples.
This is Quarantine Cuisine: Episode 1, "Pumped-up Pasta."
Hi there! My name is Irene, and I'm the resident taste tester at Business Insider.
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Recently, the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible for me to do my usual work, which requires going out to eat at restaurants. Like many of you, I'm stuck at home. My usual diet of burgers, fries, and the occasional salad has been replaced with what I can scrounge from apocalyptic grocery store shelves.
But shelf-stable food doesn't have to be sad or boring. I'm determined to keep flavor in my life, even if I'm working with the bare minimum.
Over the next few weeks, I'll share some of my favorite flavorful recipes made only with ingredients that keep for months in your pantry or your fridge.
Let's start with one of the most universally beloved ingredients in many pantries: pasta. I call this recipe, "pumped-up pasta." It's simple, it's cheap, and it's delicious. Most everybody can make it, and most everybody will love it.
Step 1. Fill a pot with water. Place it on the stove. Turn the stove on.
Step 2: Add a generous pinch of salt to the water.
Step 3: Crush up some garlic. I chose two cloves for a one-person serving because I love garlic.
My philosophy of spice is: the more, the better. But you should add as much or as little as you'd like.
Once the water is boiling, open up your package of pasta. I chose a whole-wheat spaghetti.
I usually use around 1.5 times the recommended serving size. But you can adjust the amount of pasta you boil based on how big, hungry, and many you are.
Step 4: Put the pasta in the boiling water.
Once the pasta is softer, give it a stir. Just make sure nothing sticks to the pan or together. Lumpy pasta is grumpy pasta.
Boil it for about half the time recommended on the package.
Step 5: Reserve a half cup or so of pasta water.
Step 6: Drain your noodles. Again, make sure they don't stick together. Give 'em a toss or something.
Step 6: Put pan on stove. Turn heat up to medium. Cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil.
Step 7: Once the oil's hot, add your garlic.
Step 8: Grind a healthy dose of pepper onto your sizzling garlic. Now, double it.
Step 9: Add your drained pasta to the pan.
Step 10: You do the hokey-pokey and you shake it all about.
Step 10: Add your reserved pasta water and your sauce of choice. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Wegmaniac, so I chose Wegmans' "Grandpa's Sauce."
Just a lil' dollop will go a long way. Let your noodles bathe until they've absorbed most of the liquid. Again, don't let them stick together!
Step 11: Pasta, meet plate. Plate, meet palate.
Et, voilà! Pull our your fork and your fancy napkin and prepare for a plate of carby goodness that'll almost make you forget that the apocalypse is happening just outside your kitchen.
Note: You can modify this recipe at any stage by adding a vegetable or protein you like when sautéing the garlic. Or, you can top it with a sprinkle of a parmesan-like hard cheese.
