Everyday Pasta

This, my dears, is everyday pasta. I call it thusly because it's easy, it's quick, and it's fantastically inexpensive. It's a one (mayyyybe two) bowl recipe that takes about 15 minutes hands on time and costs pocket change per serving. It's also will use up any leftover veggies from the fridge, has a delicious creamy Parmesan sauce, and with the addition of a protien and a vegetable or herb, it constitutes a complete meal.

On second thought, just between you and me, let's nickname this "superman" pasta. Because it saves time, money, and effort; a glorious trifecta of modern cooking.

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Freshly chopped parsley.

Roasted garlic: warm, squishy, and delectably caramelized.

There are four necessary ingredients for this pasta: pasta, garlic, and parmesan cheese. There are infinite number of combinations and varations you could do with meat, vegetables, and herbs. Literally, almost infinite levels of crazy you can achieve with the simple base of pasta, garlic and parm. I chose to add some parsley sauted in butter . . . and that's it. Because I'm a minimalist.

The simplicity and inexpensiveness of this meal makes it a perfect option for the end of the month when the food budget may be something other than "opulent" and the selection in the fridge is something other than "endless." 

I'm going to give you the basic recipe I used with the parsley option. Experiment with whatever sounds good to you (spinach + bacon? squash + shallots?) and adjust as necessary. The most basic reduction is this: roast garlic, boil pasta, add cheese, devour whole heartedly. Yerm.

This is an intuitive recipe, y'all, and is meant to be catered to your preferences. It's open to your every whim. Go for it.

Helpful tips:

 A note about the ingredients: make sure they are as fresh and high-quality as possible. This is a simple meal, and simplicity necessitates quality. This does not necessarily apply to those leftover veggies that have been hanging out in your fridge since last Tuesday. They'll do fine, so long as the non-leafy ones are given a good saute in plenty of butter or a good roasting in the oven with the garlic. Everything gets a little better with heat and butter.

If you are using non-leafy vegetables, feel free to dice 'em up into 1/2 inch chunks and roast them with the garlic. The slow exposure to heat will make them sing. Don't cut veggies into chunks bigger than 1/2 inch, or they won't cook through.

Here are some variations. Feel free to experiment with combinations.

Protein variations: Use some or none at all. As always, bacon comes to mind first, as it should. Other protein options include: sausage, chicken, steak, ground beef, ground turkey. Exotic option: ground lamb. The only protein I wouldn't use is fish, because apparently the gods of food have decided that as far as fish and cheese dishes go, ne'er the two shall meet.

Vegetable variations: I'd recommend a leafy vegetable and/or the tomato route, but you can use whatever is in the fridge so long as they're sauteed/roasted. Some suggustions: spinach, kale, watercress, arugula, collard greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, squash, carrots, mushrooms, and shallots.

Herb variations: fresh herbs like parsley, basil,or chives.

Sauce variations: use some, or none at all. These liquids can be used to loosen or thicken the sauce, depending on your selection. Cream, chicken stock, half and half, Greek yogurt, 2% milk.

Salt and Pepper: don't be afraid of salt. It's a beautiful thing. Use it well, and it will elevate your dish to culinary heights.

Roasted Garlic: First, you need to know that roasted garlic is a mellow, sweeter cousin to raw garlic. It's not pungent, sharp, or pronounced. In other words, it makes a perfect background note for a sauce. (It would also be brilliant in hummus or a veggie dip, but let's not get carried away just yet.)

The top of an entire head of garlic is cut off, and then roasted whole (papery skin and all) at low heat for about an hour. After an hour, it is soft, squishy, and caramelized. Side note: please remind me to tell you all sometime about the occassion I learned how to peel a garlic clove. I was twenty, had never seen whole garlic, and it was hilarious.

Reserving some of the pasta water will thicken your sauce due to all the starch that has been boiled off the noodles.

Everyday Pasta

2 heads of garlic
1 pound of pasta, any kind
knob of butter
Big handful of parsley
dollop of cream
a big ole chunka Parmesan

Preheat your oven to 325F. Grab a sharp knife and your heads of garlic. Lop off the top such that most of the garlic cloves are exposed. (See picture above.) Tightly cover both in a piece of foil. Toss in the oven, forget about them for an hour until they are light brown and soft. Extract from oven, carefully unwrap, let cool.

Meanwhile, bring pot of well-salted water to boil. Chop parsley. When water is boiling, add pasta, then stir occasionally until al dente. Drain, but reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Return pot used for pasta to stove, melt butter, toss in parsley, let heat through. Add some cream, add some of the reserved pasta water, let simmer for a bit to combine and thicken. This creates the base for the sauce. Add pasta to pot, grate in as much Parmesan as your heart desires, stir, letting Parm melt into and thicken the sauce. Reduce heat, stir to combine. When your cheesy garlic sauce is to your liking - and only then - take it off the stove, check and adjust for seasoning, then consume.