Spaghetti with fresh tomatoes sauce

It is almost summer time. That means that fresh tomatoes are in the right season and tasty.
Also, you can find fresh basil at the groceries. All the ingridients of a nice fresh spaghetti dish.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

1) Put water to boil in a pot and add 2 teaspoons of salt.

2) In a separate pan, sauté some onions and garlic in olive oil until browning. Add a bit of red hot pepper too.

3) Wash and cut fresh tomatoes

4) When you start cooking the spaghetti (5 minutes of cooking, see the time on the package), add the fresh cut tomatoes to the pan. Cook the tomatoes just for few minutes.

5) Drain the spaghetti and add them to the pan, stirring and smashing the fresh sauce onto them.

6) Dress with fresh basil and olive oil

Add parmesan cheese and black pepper if you like...

Buon appetito

Pasta with garbanzo beans (chickpeas)

Garbanzo beans or chickpeas are very good for you. They are the main ingredient of hummus. You can make a sauce kinda like the hummus and add it to the pasta. Usually we use some short kind of pasta. You don't have it? No problem, what we do is to cut the spaghetti in 3 or 4 pieces... in this way we shorten them! :)

Preparation time: 15 min

1) Put 3 cups of water to boil in a pot

2) Add garlic, olive oil, red hot pepper, cut carrots and celery

3) Add the garbanzo beans to the pot (you can use a can of organic beans, otherwise make sure to rinse them very well before using)

4) Cut the long pasta (spaghetti or linguine or fettuccine)

5) Add the pasta in the pot and let cook for 5-10 min

When it is ready, the water will be almost completely evaporated.

You can then add some fresh parsley and black pepper...

Buon appetito!!

Pasta with Garlic and Oil

Let me tell you: this is a classic. This is the simplest Pasta dish ever. When I was in Italy hanging out with friends at night we used to propose to the gang: shall we have a Spaghettata Aglio and Olio? The term derives from Spaghetti, which is the shape of pasta required for this kind of dish, and it means a big feast of spaghetti with garlic and oil. Please remember to use only olive oil.

Time for preparation: 5-10 minutes (Super-easy)

1) Boil water in a pot for the pasta (spaghetti!)

2) Add 4-5 cloves (per person) of smashed garlic, olive oil (2 tbs per person) and hot red pepper to a pan at medium-low fire

3) Drain the pasta and add it to the pan stirring all together

4) Add chopped parsley (parsley will help to cancel the garlic bad smell form you mouth!)

Add parmesan cheese and pepper if you like.

PS because I needed to eat some fish, I opened a can of tuna and with some olive oil added as side to the pasta...

Buon appetito!