Penne Arrabiata

I am a big fan of MasterChef Australia. I religiously watch all episodes and sometimes even re-runs. Sagi gets very irritated as all I do is take over his prime time TV slot and not make any of the recipes. In this season of MasterChef, Chef Marco Pierre White shared the recipe for a perfect tomato sauce pasta. It was simple and easy to prepare. 


This kind of preparation is also called as Penne Arrabiata or fiery penne.

Ingredients

2 cups of chopped tomatoes (3 medium sized tomatoes)
1- 200 gms tetra pack of tomato puree
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
3-4 basil leaves, finely chopped
1 chicken cube
4 cups of cooked penne pasta
100 grams of cherry tomatoes chopped into half
salt (optional) and pepper
olive oil

Method

1. Chop the tomatoes and puree the tomatoes in a blender or mixie.
2. In a wide mouthed heavy skillet (kadhai), pour some olive oil and saute the garlic till the raw smells go away. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes and bring it to boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and empty the entire content of the tomato puree tetra pack into the tomato puree. The color of the sauce will become a deep red. 
5. Add the water and basil leaves.
6. Season with chicken cube and pepper. Adjust salt accordingly as the chicken cube will be high on salt.
7. Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and allow the sauce to reduce. This will take around 30 to 45 minutes. Mix the sauce occasionally so that it will not stick to the pan. 
8. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning accordingly. 
9. If the sauce is sweet, add the apple cider vinegar to improve the acidity of the sauce.  
10. In the meanwhile, wash the pasta and cook it according to the package instruction. Important note - In the TV show, Chef Marco Pierre White mentioned that the pasta should not be cooked al dente as the pasta may overcook during the final stages. 
11. Drain the pasta and toss it in olive oil so that the pasta will not stick to one another. Keep it aside
12. Switch off the heat and pour the sauce into a separate bowl.
13. In the same skillet heat olive oil and add the cherry tomatoes. Reduce the heat to low and let the tomatoes soften, stirring occasionally. Add 2-3 torn leaves of basil at this point.
14. When the tomatoes become pulpy, add 4 cups of the cooked pasta and mix. 
15. Add the sauce to the pasta and gently mix it into the pasta, carefully without breaking the pasta. 
16. Let the pasta cook in the sauce for 5 minutes on low heat. Keep a close eye as the pasta may stick to the bottom of the pan. Check the pasta for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
17. Turn off the heat and let the pasta sit for 15 to 30 minutes so that the flavors can be absorbed.
18. Transfer the pasta into a serving plate and garnish with fresh basil leaves and shavings of cheese (optional).

Some notes from the TV show

The sauce was made entirely from cherry tomatoes as it gives the rich redness to the sauce. The chef used pasata, a form of Italian tomato puree. I substituted it with regular store brought tomato puree. If I recall correctly, the chef used either red wine or red wine vinegar. I substituted the same with apple cider vinegar. 

If you like very intense sauce taste, then reduce the amount of pasta used. 

The pasta was tasty and Sagi liked it too. I suppose now he will not grumble when I watch Masterchef Australia.