How to eat pasta without tomato sauce

Imported 100% whole-wheat farfalle in a sauce made with organic diced tomatoes, but no tomato sauce, above. The next morning, the whole-wheat pasta was the perfect foil for two organic brown eggs, below.

 

Oil and garlic, and a fragrant basil pesto are two ways to eat pasta without tomato sauce.

But don't stop there.

I emptied a can of organic diced tomatoes with its  juices into a large, non-stick pan; added two cans of drained sardines, rinsing them to reduce sodium; and a couple of ounces of salted cod fish that had been boiled twice to remove salt and broken into small pieces.

I followed with 3 or 4 ounces of extra-virgin olive oil from Cyprus, a few ounces of French red wine, lots of chopped fresh garlic and some red-pepper flakes, and I broke up the sardines with a spatula before covering the pan and turning on the heat to bring everything to a low boil.

Meanwhile, I boiled 1 pound of imported whole-wheat farfalle, drained the pasta and mixed it well with the sauce.

When I served the pasta, I made sure to sprinkle on grated sheep's milk Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy. Next time, I'll add pine nuts to the sauce.

I usually make 1 pound of pasta to provide leftovers for breakfast and dinner the next day.
 

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale has lots of uses beyond dressing pasta. It adds a spring-like zing to bland tofu in a takeout dinner salad, above, and to wild-caught Icelandic haddock fillets right out of the oven, below.

 

Another sauce for pasta -- cacio e pepe -- uses lots of grated cheese and ground black pepper, and a cup or more of reserved pasta water.

After the pasta is boiled and drained, add it to a non-stick pan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil to prevent sticking.

Then, the hot pasta water goes in and the heat goes on, followed by lots of grated Pecorino Romano cheese and ground black pepper to taste. 

Add more hot pasta water, if necessary. Mix well. By the way, don't salt the water beforehand, and use just enough to cover the pasta.

Again, I make this with 1 pound of organic whole-wheat spaghetti from Trader Joe's to provide plenty of leftovers.  

I use organic diced tomatoes, Pecorino Romano cheese, fresh garlic, ground black pepper, red-pepper flakes, refrigerated pesto and wild-caught Icelandic haddock from Costco Wholesale.
   

The Garofalo whole-wheat Farfalle or Bow Ties I used in the first recipe had a cooking time of 15 minutes, one of the longest I have ever seen. I used Costco's Basil Pesto to dress artisanal egg noddles from Italy that I found at my warehouse store in Hackensack only once, below.

   

Fresh wild-caught fish and a fresh take on organic whole-wheat pasta

Fresh wild-caught flounder was $7.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We went shopping for dinner separately, but managed to turn out a satisfying meal of fresh wild-caught fish, pasta with grated cheese and black pepper, fresh sweet corn on the cob and organic lettuce for our salads.

My wife went to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, where she found fresh wild flounder fillets from Iceland.

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti with grated cheese and black pepper.

On the way home Friday evening, I stopped at a farmers' market, where I found fresh white corn (45 cents each) and a head of organic lettuce for $2.50.

We had the other ingredients -- from Trader Joe's and Costco -- at home.

My wife seasoned the fish fillets, dusted them in flour and fried them quickly in a non-stick pan with a little oil.

I took a half-pound of Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti and cooked it in boiling water for about 8 minutes, a minute or two before the recommended cooking time of 9-10 minutes.

I drained the pasta, then finished cooking it in a pan with a cup of hot pasta water and three or four tablespoons of a butter substitute, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

After mixing them well, I added lots of grated Pecorino-Romano sheep's milk cheese and black pepper.

I added more cheese and black pepper to the portion on my plate.

I just winged it after seeing a TV show in which world traveler Anthony Bourdain enjoyed the pasta -- cacio e pepe  -- on a trip to Rome, complete with shots of the cook preparing the dish in the kitchen of a Roman restaurant.

I poured a glass of chianti.

I had the pasta first; then two fillets, hot and delicious right out of the pan, sprinkled with lime juice; and finished with a simple salad of organic lettuce, extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fresh sweet corn was my dessert, with nothing on it.