SpaghettiOs revisited

 

These are SpaghettiOs, grown-up style. I didn't grow up eating those, but we did occasionally get their culinary cousin, Chef Boyardee ravioli, so I have tangential nostalgia for that flavor profile.

A bonus for this recipe: You know how every recipe that calls for tomato paste seems to call for just 1 tablespoon out of the can and then you have to be sure to freeze the rest in useful portions before it goes bad in the back of the frig? This recipe uses up the entire remainder of the can perfectly. I may never freeze tomato paste again so long as I keep small round pasta on hand. 

Additional bonus: The pasta cooks in the sauce, so one less pan to clean. Sold.

This is still a pretty simplistic dish, but if you want to try a more sophisticated version, this one from Bon Appetit looks like it might be worth a try.

Grown-Up Tomato Parmesan Pasta
Adapted from “Half Baked Harvest Super Simple” by Tieghan Gerard

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Crushed red pepper flakes
6 tablespoons tomato paste
7 ounces short tubular pasta such as anellini (rings in Creamette lingo), anelli or ditalini
2 tablespoons dry red wine
5 cups water
⅔ cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

Method
In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over low heat. Add garlic, rosemary and a generous sprinkle of crushed red flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant. Stir in tomato paste. Add wine and water and raise heat to high to bring mixture to a boil. Add pasta and a generous seasoning of salt. Cook, stirring often, until pasta is al dente and the liquid has nearly reduced to a sauce. Stir in Parmesan cheese and adjust seasoning with salt and additional crushed red pepper flakes. Serve garnished with basil leaves.

The pasta package says it serves about 3½, which is what I’d say this dish does, at least as a main course serving.

Rating: It's got a lot of the flavor profile of anything Chef Boyardee made, but it's got a few more subtle seasonings that elevate it a bit. Creamy comfort food for the family, made from ingredients you're likely to have in hand, and a pretty fast fix for a weeknight.