Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce

When it comes to pasta, I love tomato sauce and l love my pasta smothered in it. I often make bolognese but it’s definitely very time consuming and can take up to 3 hours to make including prep time. I also like to make a shrimp or clam tomato sauce with my pasta because it’s lighter and doesn’t take as long to cook. But sometimes I don’t have seafood readily available on hand. A great option for a simple pasta sauce is arrabbiata sauce, which is basically a spicy marinara. It’s perfect for those nights when you don’t have a lot of time because it doesn’t require many ingredients. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry. It’s easy to make and so delicious! And you can freeze your leftovers!

Pasta with Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:

• Linguine-fini or any pasta of your choice

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 6 cloves garlic, 4 diced and 2 smashed

• 2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes

• 16 basil leaves, torn

• 1 tsp oregano

• ½ - 1½ tsp red chili pepper flakes, more or less, depending on your spice level (½ tsp=a little spicy, 1 tsp=spicy, 1.5 tsp=very spicy)

• 5 sprigs of thyme

• 2-2½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp sugar

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup of water

• burrata or parmesan cheese upon serving (optional)

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a 3 quart pot over medium heat. Brown onions. Throw in the garlic and lightly toast.  Pour in canned tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, red chili pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and fresh basil. If your tomatoes are whole, you can break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low. Sauce will thicken and stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir sporadically breaking up the tomatoes and scraping the bottom.

Add 1 cup of water and stir thoroughly. Cook for another 30 minutes-1 hour on medium-low heat. Continue to stir sauce and break up the tomatoes with your wooden spoon.

Lastly, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over your finished sauce and stir.

Toss your pasta in the sauce. Serve with fresh basil and a scoop of burrata cheese or grated parmesan. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. I prefer burrata because it helps calm down the spice. Its soft, rich and cool texture is also a nice contrast to the hot and spicy dish. If you choose burrata, drizzle a little bit of EVOO on top. Skip the cheese all together and make this dish vegan. Substitute pasta for zucchini noodles (or use gluten-free pasta) and make this dish gluten free. Or do both, and make this dish vegan AND gluten-free!

When I cook for just me, I like to toss an individual portion of linguine-fini in an individual portion of the sauce in a separate pan, over the stove top. I also prefer my pasta al dente so I undercook my pasta slightly knowing that it will cook a little bit more when I mix it in with the sauce in the pan. Then I freeze the rest of the sauce in small portions to have later, either with pasta or to make shakshouka with for breakfast. But if you are planning on making this dish for a few guests, you can transfer all of your pasta directly into the pot of sauce and toss all together to eat immediately. Another option is to use some of the arrabbiata sauce as the base of another sauce. Just recently, I took out a small portion of the sauce from the freezer and cooked it with wine and butter and added pasta and it was delicious!

Spicy Shrimp Linguine-Fini

One of my favorite pasta dishes to make is Shrimp Linguine in a light tomato sauce made w frozen @traderjoes shrimp. It’s so simple to make and only requires a few ingredients. This has been a popular dish on my Love in My Belly Instagram but I hadn’t thought to post it on the blog until now after I had gotten multiple requests for the recipe. So here it is below. Happy Eating!

SHRIMP LINGUINI (serves about 3 depending on how saucy you like your pasta)

Ingredients:

• EVOO

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp butter

• lemon juice from 1/2-1 lemon

• 1/2 cup of white wine

• 1 can of diced tomatoes

• 1-1.5 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 tsp red chili flakes

• 5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme

• linguine fini (or regular linguine or spaghetti is fine too)

• parsley, chopped

• 12-15 raw, deveined, w tail on shrimp (I always have @traderjoes shrimp in my freezer. Make a shallow cut along the back so that it butterlies beautifully when cooked)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and slightly undercook the linguine and set aside. Add EVOO to a large, deep pan. Sauté onions till brown. Throw in garlic and lightly toast. Mix in butter and cook for a minute. Pour in wine. Let it reduce for a couple minutes. Add canned tomatoes. Sprinkle w salt + pepper + red chili flakes. Throw in fresh sprigs of thyme. Let the sauce simmer for a couple minutes. Lower heat. Add shrimp and squeeze in half of the lemon juice, tossing and turning the shrimp in the sauce until it’s cooked which doesn’t take long. Toss in the linguini and cook briefly. You can also remove shrimp and add back in after you toss the linguine so that you don’t overcook the shrimp. Squeeze in the rest of the lemon juice if you like. Drizzle some more EVOO. Toss again. Sprinkle w chopped parsley & enjoy!

Porcini Mushroom Bolognese

I love mushrooms. All mushrooms. Mushrooms just taste great in everything. And it’s the perfect substitute for meat. One of my favorite specialty mushrooms is porcini. I love its meaty texture and earthy flavor. I thought it would be fun (and delicious) to create a vegetarian and vegan version of my bolognese sauce with porcini mushrooms.

To create my dish, I used a variety of Alessi Food products, including their extra virgin olive oil, dried porcini mushrooms, linguine, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sea salt, and black peppercorn. Alessi products are fresh, high-quality, and authentically Italian. They are family owned and operated for the last 72 years! You can find their products at most local grocers or you can buy them online with free shipping on all orders over $20. If you love Italian food and cooking, definitely check out Alessi Foods and use code BELLY for a 15% discount. They offer a variety of amazing products. One thing I particularly like about their organic pasta is that it is made with bronze dies, which means it is coarser than most pastas and allows sauce to stick to it more.

My sauce is not only vegetarian but it’s also vegan. I used coconut milk as a dairy substitute to make the sauce creamy. However, I like to top my pasta with a little parmesan but you don’t have to. Happy cooking and eating!

Porcini Mushroom Bolognese (serves 6)

Dry Ingredients:

1 package (1 lb) of Alessi organic linguine or spaghetti pasta

3 packages (1.5 oz) of Alessi porcini mushrooms

Liquid Ingredients:

1 can (28 oz) of Alessi crushed Italian tomatoes

1-1½ cup tomato sauce

½ cup of dry red or white wine

½ cup of coconut milk

½ cup of porcini mushroom water

½-¾ cup of pasta water

Fresh Vegetables:

½ lb mixed mushrooms (cremini and shiitake), coarsely chopped

1 whole eggplant, roasted, peeled and mashed (optional)

1 whole sweet yellow onion, diced

1 cup of carrots, diced

1 cup of celery, diced

½ cup of fresh parsley, chopped

Herbs, Spices, & Seasoning:

2 tbsp Alessi extra virgin olive oil

2-2½ tsp Alessi coarse ground sea salt

1 tsp Alessi ground black peppercorn

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp oregano

6 sprigs of fresh thyme

6 cloves of garlic, 3 thinly sliced and 3 crushed

½ tsp red chili flakes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Wash eggplant and trim ends.  Cut thick round slices and lay flat on a baking sheet.  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the eggplant and season with salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, flipping the eggplant slices over half way through.  When the eggplant has finished baking, allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.  Peel the skin off the round slices and discard. Mash up the eggplant with a knife and set aside.

Soak dried porcini mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes.  Rinse and drain.  Keep ½ cup of the porcini mushroom water to use in the sauce.

Clean, trim, peel, and dice carrots, celery and onions.  Wash and coarsely chop the mixed mushrooms.  Thinly slice 3 of the garlic cloves and crush the other cloves.

Heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat in a large braising pan.  Sautee the onions until they turn a light golden brown.  Then add garlic, celery, and carrots to the pan.  Add 2 tbsp water.  Cook for a few minutes until they have softened. 

Add porcini and mixed mushrooms.  Sprinkle 2 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp ground black pepper.  Cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms have shrunken.  Pour in roasted eggplant.  Add 1 tsp sugar.  Mix thoroughly and allow to cook for a couple of minutes.

Add ½ cup of dry red or white wine.  Lower heat to medium.  Stir the vegetables, scraping any bits stuck to the pan.  Cook for a few minutes. 

Pour in crushed tomatoes and 1 cup tomato sauce (you can add more if you prefer your bolognese saucier).  Sprinkle in remaining ½ tsp sea salt, ½ tsp red chili flakes, and 1 tsp oregano.  Throw in 6 sprigs of fresh thyme.  Add ½ cup of the porcini mushroom water.  Mix the vegetarian bolognese.

Lower heat to medium low.  Partially cover the pan with a lid and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. 

In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta until it’s al dente.  Save ½ cup of the pasta water.  Drain pasta and set aside.

After the bolognese has been simmering for 30 minutes, pour in ½ cup of coconut milk.  Add ½-¾ cup of the pasta water or more, depending on how much your sauce has thickened or your preference.  Mix thoroughly.  Allow to simmer for another 30 minutes partially covered.

Remove the thyme sprigs from the sauce.  Serve sauce over pasta.  Drizzle extra virgin olive oil over your dish.  Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.  Top with shaved parmesan.