Penne alla Arrabiata
A minimum amount of ingredients with maximum flavor, that is why Italian food is one of our to go-to cuisines in the van. Penne alla Arrabiata is one of the easiest pasta recipes in that category. And trust me, when you are in a van you won't need a tray (why is there no Darth Vader emoticon for this?).
Ingredients
300gr of Penne
1 onion
6 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of dried chili-flakes
1 can of peeled tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Chop the onion and sauté it in some olive oil. Chop the 6 cloves of garlic and add to the onion with two teaspoons of dried chili-flakes. Sauté for a minute or two, without browning the garlic, add a can of tomatoes and let simmer for about 30min on low heat. Stir every ten minutes or so to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pan.
Season at the end with coarse sea salt. (We like to use “sel de camargue” sea salt from the Camargue region in France, definitely a must visit region on our bucket list).
In the meantime cook the penne "al dente" in salted water (enough salt to let it taste like the ocean). The pasta needs to be neither too hard nor too soft. You'll know the pasta is cooked when the white of the pasta center has disappeared.
Stir the penne through the sauce and serve with fresh basil to taste and some extra virgin olive oil.
Cheers!