5 Ingredients or Fewer

Marcella's Drunk One Pot Tomato Pasta

by:
May  7, 2019
4
1 Ratings
Photo by dede
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

I know Marcella would just die if she saw this. However, her recipe is so perfect for a quick dinner and I wanted to make it quicker and a faster clean up by cooking the pasta in the sauce. Initially, I was going to try this in my Instant Pot but didn't want to risk the double trouble of Instant Pot Pasta which is almost always either gummy or mushy and the one pot pasta idea. I followed her recipe until the addition of cooking the pasta in white wine. It was heated until almost boiling. Then I broke the pasta in half which is another big No-No. The pasta was cooked for about 10 minutes until it was short of al dente. At that point a few ounces of water was added (about 4-6 ounces) to give more liquid to the pan for the pasta to absorb. The pasta was tasty and easy to make. I think I would use red wine if I did it again. I used Pinot Grigio so the sauce would not be overpowered by a red. But, I don't think that would be the case now that I did the white wine. I heated some leftovers for lunch and it was actually better than it was for dinner. —dede

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Ingredients
  • 16 ounces imported chopped Italian Tomatoes, in their juices
  • 5 tablespoons good butter
  • 1 medium onion, cut in half
  • 1-2 dashes salt
  • 16 ounces good quality imported long thin Italian Pasta, such as spaghetti
  • 1 Bottle of Pinot Grigio
  • Handful freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Splash good olive oil to top the pasta
Directions
  1. Put the tomatoes in a large sauce pan along with the butter, onion, tomatoes and some salt. The sauce will not even come close to the mid-level of the pan. Bring the sauce to a strong simmer so you can see bubbles but it is not boiling. Stir the sauce every 10-15 minutes for 45 minutes. You will see the butter rise to the top of the sauce.
  2. Remove the onion and save for another use such as a soup, or puree up and use some for a salad dressing.
  3. Taste for salt and add pepper to taste.
  4. Pour a bottle of Pinot Grigio into the sauce and heat up for a few minutes. Break the pasta in half and add to the sauce making sure the pasta is completely submerged. Cook stirring occasionally, to keep the pasta submerged for 10 minutes. Make sure the sauce is not burning and the wine isn't evaporating too fast. After about 10 minutes, the pasta will be al dente. Add some of the water, a few ounces at a time to keep the pasta covered in liquid until the pasta is done to your liking. This may take 3 to 4 more minutes.
  5. Serve with the Parmesan Cheese and a splash of good olive oil.

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