Fast Pasta with Tomato, Olive and Caper Sauce

Approx cost: €2.50
Approx calories (per serving): ~650 (assuming everything is split between 2 persons)
Approx preparation time and cooking time: 15 minutes

Everyone has a pasta sauce recipe which they can cook up in a hurry. I find black olives and capers really make a great addition to a basic sauce. If you can make this 24 hours in advance then the sauce will soak into the pasta overnight and make the taste even more smooth and well-rounded. For the olives, try to use ones which have been cured with salt instead of brine. The taste is much better in a tomato sauce!

Ingredients

Ingredients you'll need for this dish

– ~140g (2 cups) Pasta
– 1 regular sized tin chopped or whole tomatoes
– 1 regular sized onion
– 4 cloves garlic
– 1-2 tbsps tomato concentrate
– 3-4 tbsps capers
– 3-4 tbsps black olives
– 0.05 litres Olive oil (0.25 cups)
– Salt and Pepper
– Mozzarella or Parmesan to garnish

Instructions

1. Start by boiling enough water to cover the pasta and once boiling pour the pasta in and boil until cooked. If you want to keep the pasta from sticking to the pan while you cook it you can splash in a tablespoon of oil.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. While the pasta is boiling chop the onion finely, mince the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a pan and then fry the onion and garlic together until golden.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Meanwhile, remove the pits from the olives if necessary. Add the can of tomatoes, the tomato concentrate, olives and capers into the pan with the onion and garlic and mix well. Heat through and simmer for a few minutes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Once you’ve simmered the sauce and it’s thickened a little pour onto the pasta and mix well. Heat through a little more to warm up the pasta in case it’s cooled a little and then serve. Top with some cheese if desired.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Nom nom