Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes: Easy Parmesan Basil Pasta

Pasta with Basil and Tomatoes

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“…there is a mountain made entirely of grated Parmesan, where people do nothing but make macaroni and ravioli, cook them in capon broth and throw them down; whoever catches the most, has the most.” Giovanni Boccaccio, “The Decameron”

The first things that come to mind when you mention Italian cuisine are pizza, pasta and risotto. In Italy, the first course is always pasta. Cooking pasta is a whole science and an art. Pasta without sauce is ignorance. One of the tastiest recipes is pasta with basil and tomatoes.

Then again, making the sauce is an art too. The simplest pasta sauce, which needs no special skills at all, is Parmesan, green basil and olive oil. Pasta with basil and tomatoes is the simplest pasta breakfast you can make.

Back in my childhood, when the shops sold only a few kinds of pasta, such as elbows, shells and spaghetti, we usually bought those elbows as a side dish. Nobody knew then that this was pipe, or pipe rigate, one of the traditional Roman pastas, which looks like short, curled, half-moon tubes. They are also called “snails”, and this shape holds a not-too-thick sauce perfectly.

Serpentini is a little like pipe, but longer, and unlike the half-moon of pipe it has several curls, which is probably why it is called “bobbins”. For pasta with basil and tomatoes you usually pick a short pasta such as penne, fusilli, serpentini or pipe, as they suit it best.

Ingredients

2 servings

For cooking the pasta

For the sauce

  • Green basil 1 large bunch
  • Parmesan or pecorino 50 g
  • Olive oil 2 tbsp
  • Garlic 1-2 cloves (optional)
  • Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste

For serving

Step-by-step recipe

How to cook the pasta

While the pasta is cooking, you can always make the basil sauce and even have time for a shower. No wonder pasta with basil is the simplest pasta dish you can make for breakfast.

  1. In a large pot, bring 3 l of water to a boil over high heat and salt it at 7 g of salt per liter of water, that is 21 g. Add the pasta, stir so it does not stick together, and cook at a boil without a lid. The cooking time is given on the package, and you should not change it, or the pasta will end up either overcooked or undercooked. The package time is what guarantees the “al dente” texture.

    Serpentini pasta.

How to make basil sauce

While the pasta is boiling, we make the basil sauce. It is very easy. If the basil is not quite fresh and a little limp, put it in cold water for a few hours beforehand. This will make the leaves firm again and give them a second life.

  1. Prepare the basil: wash a large bunch of fresh basil thoroughly, shake off the water and sort through it, discarding any spoiled sprigs or leaves.

    Basil, Parmesan and tomatoes.

    Pick all the leaves off the sprigs. Leave a few leaves whole and put the rest in a chopper.

  2. Make the sauce. Grate a piece of Parmesan (50 g), pecorino works well too, and add it to the basil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Strictly optional, especially if you do not have to go to work, you can add 1-2 peeled garlic cloves to the chopper. It will liven up the flavor of the pasta. Chop the basil and Parmesan until they turn into almost dry, small, pleasantly green pieces.

    Chopping the basil and Parmesan.

    Add 2 tbsp of the best olive oil and mix. The basil pasta sauce is ready.

How to mix the pasta with the sauce

  1. Drain the cooked pasta in a colander, let the water run off and put it on plates.

  1. Roughly chop the reserved basil leaves and mix them with the pasta. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with a pinch of dried oregano.

  2. Mix the basil, Parmesan and olive oil with the pasta.

    Mixing the pasta with Parmesan and basil.

Serving

  1. Serve the pasta right away, while it is hot. You can mix the pasta with the basil before bringing it to the table, or right at the table during breakfast.

    Pasta with basil and tomatoes.

    Pasta with basil, tomatoes, Parmesan and olive oil is an amazing, simple pasta dish, ideal for breakfast. By the way, the more basil you use, the tastier the pasta will be.

    Pasta with basil and tomatoes

Calories and macros

700 kcal

Serving ≈ 400 g

  • Protein26 g16% of kcal
  • Fat22 g30% of kcal
  • Carbs92 g55% of kcal

100 g175 kcalProtein 6.6 gFat 5.5 gCarbs 23 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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