Capellini in Tomato Basil Sauce

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We finally went out and had a woodsy- fix yesterday. I have been missing the hills and valleys in Tennessee, especially the lush green grass. The woods have this gentle clicking sound from tree trunks, and some times it can be absolutely boisterous. The rustling leaves are very therapeutic for me as is water flowing through a stream. Having had a rainy spell for most of this week the metro park in Cleveland was perfect yesterday. Green, green leaves and such a blue sky! OMG! It was to die for!. The path was soft and slushy from the recent rains, but it hardly bothered me because it was a tiny price to pay to enjoy freshly washed leaves glittering in the sunlight. I know I am rambling, but I had a great evening and wanted to share this with you. Don’t forget to get out and enjoy yourselves today. It can be great for your soul. The reason why we are all here today is though is Capellini.



Capellini is my favorite pasta. It's like vermicelli and sometimes called Angel hair pasta. A thinner version of spaghetti, I prefer Capellini over most other pastas. I have used the brand Delallo, and the recipe that follows is the simplest with minimal ingredients. Without a lot of work you can still have the satisfaction of having cooked something from scratch. If that matters to you, rest assured this recipe does just that!




Ingredients:

Capellini - 150 gms, 4-5 Oz
Onions - 1 medium
Garlic - about 5 cloves (2 Tbspn)
Tomato on vine - 3 large
Sweet Basil dry - 1 tspn
Mushrooms - 10 nos
Paparika - 1 tspn
Black Pepper - to taste
Sugar - 1 tspn
Salt - to taste
Olive Oil - 2 1/2 Tbspn
Cheese - Parmesan or Romano (I used a combination of these two with Asiago)




Method:

1. Cook capellini al dente
2. Blanch tomato (I boiled tomato immersed in water, once the skin started tearing away I switched off the flame, let it cool, peeled and diced the tomato)
3. Heat 2 Tbspn oil in a pan and add chopped onions and saute, when translucent add garlic and saute till you get the aroma of garlic cooking
4. Add paparika and basil closely followed, so as to avoid burning, with tomato
5. Check taste and add the sugar if its too acidic and salt to balance the flavors. The measurement given for sugar maybe reduced or added on as per taste
6. Saute mushrooms in half tablespoon oil, salt and pepper as you like and drop this into the sauce
7. Add the Capellini into the sauce, mix and serve hot.
8. Top with cheese and enjoy

Notes:
1. You may dress up the pasta with olives or other vegetables you like. I some times also add cooked sausage which changes the dimensions completely and being a meat love enjoy it very much.

2. Without the cheese I cannot say too much about this sauce. But even a sprinkle of cheese adds to the flavor. If you only have Parmesan handy that will work well.

Contributor: Sunitha