This recipe is something I whipped up for Pranavi so she could satisfy her pasta pangs with minimum effort and a big burst of flavour. We make this at least once a week and if there are any leftovers she packs them as a snack for school the next day.

Ingredients

• 5 big red tomatoes (Roma or the hybrid variety you get in India)
• 6-8 cloves of garlic
• 4-5 sprigs of fresh basil
• 2 cups of durrum wheat penne pasta
• 4 tbsp. of olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 litres of water
• 8-10 black olive slices
• Some freshly ground black pepper
• About a 1/2 tsp. of red chilli flakes
• Grated cheese (We use Amul Cheese; you can use parmesan shavings too)

Method

• Boil 2 litres of water with a tbsp. of oil and 1 tsp. of salt. Add in the pasta when the water comes to a boil; Stir a few times to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of your pan.
• Chop up the tomatoes into chunky cubes – this is where the pasta sauce gets it’s name from 🙂
• Slice up the garlic cloves.
• Heat 2-3 tbsp. of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add in the garlic. When it starts to brown a little, add the tomatoes. Chop up the basil leaves and add to the mix. Keep stirring over a medium flame until the water dries out and your left with a chunky sauce. Add in the black olives towards the end. Mix in salt, red chilli flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
• When the pasta is cooked (we like it a little softer than al dente), drain out the water and add to the pasta sauce. Give it a good mix and plate.
• Garnish with a leaf of basil and some grated cheese. You can drizzle some olive oil and grind some black pepper over the pasta just before you serve it.