Pasta and Herbs

 

My husband and I have been together for about 18 years.  We first dated in high school, then broke up for a year (for a bunch of silly reasons), and got back together when we both happened to move to Alberta around the same time. 

In all that time, Scott was well known for his lack of cooking skills.  He ate copious amounts of KD, macaroni and tomato juice, and natchos with cheese. Luckily for him (as I am often apt to remind him!), I was more than happy to do the cooking for both of us and have made the vast majority of suppers over the past 18 years. 

The one exception to this is Scott's recipe for Pasta and Herbs. A few years ago, he decided that he wanted to learn to cook a new recipe.  He scoured my cookbooks and arrived at this dish.  He's been making it ever since and has adapted it as his own.  I have no idea where the recipe came from so I can't post a link to the original. It's quite an easy dish to make but is SO flavourful! We usually save this dish for potlucks or dinners with friends as it is pretty rich (read: not low fat)

The amount of olive oil in this recipe is a tiny bit shocking and I'm always a little horrified when I watch Scott pour the oil into the pan.  If I was making this dish, I'd stick closer to 1/2 cup but this isn't my recipe so I'll go with what Scott has written down.  Regardless, just be sure to use the very best olive oil that you can find! 

Ingredients:

454 gram package of broad noodles (try to find an Italian brand if possible)

4-6 cloves minced garlic

1/2 - 1 cup olive oil

2 tbsp Tomato Sauce Blend (Hazelwood Herb Farm*)

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

1 large bunch fresh parsley, chopped

1 large bunch fresh basil, chopped

1 tomato, diced - optional

1 avocado, diced - optional 

1/2 cup crumbled feta - optional

Directions:

1. Prep your basil, garlic, and parsley. Set aside. 

2. In a small bowl, mix the dried herbs, red pepper flakes, and salt. Set aside. *If you do not have access to Hazelwood Herb Farm herbs, use 2 tsp dried basil + 2 tsp dried oregano + 1 tsp dried parsley + 1 tsp dried marjoram.* 

3. Cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside with small amount of pasta water kept in the pot. 

4. While the pasta is cooking, heat 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil in a mid-sized skillet over medium heat.  Once the oil has warmed, saute the garlic for approximately 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  

5. Add fresh herbs and stir into garlic/olive oil mixture. Saute for 2 more minutes before adding dried herbs. Stir frequently and saute for another 3-5 minutes. Add more olive oil if you'd like. 

6. Once the mixture has cooked down, take it off the heat and add the herb mixture to hot pasta. Toss to coat the pasta with the herb mixture. 

8. Pour into large pasta serving bowl. 

9. Top with diced tomato, avocado and crumbled feta (optional). Further season with salt and fresh ground pepper. 

Enjoy with a fabulous glass of red wine and some yummy garlic bread!