Linguine with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Linguine and roast tomato sauce with wheat garlic bread toasts -- a meatless dish.

Because Rodney has been grumbling lately of a, uh, slow-processing system, I opted to go meatless tonight in order to help move things along. This pasta fit the bill, and good for me as well since it looked stupid simple! Not as simple as the sugar chicken, but still pretty dang easy.

I started the sauce and while it was in the oven worked on preparing the salad. While it seemed I'd spent hours putting the combo together, it was really more of a kismet sort of thing. When I browsed my Cooking Club/Pleasures magazines this time around, I stuck to looking at January/February/March issues to get the most of the veggies currently in season. Why haven't I done this before? Typically, I look at June/July issues in January and get frustrated over the cost of blueberries, or I look at December issues in May winding up frustrated due to the cost and rarity of winter squashes. No longer.

The original recipe called for spaghetti. We were out of that and had linguine instead. I also skipped the capers and cut back on the cheese by 3/8 of a cup -- remember that lactose intolerant thing Rodney has.

Linguine with Roasted Tomato Sauce

1 (28-oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained, or 4 cups chopped tomatoes

1 c sliced mushrooms
16 Kalamata olives, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 c +1/8 c grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
8 oz. linguine

Heat oven to 350°F.

Spread tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and garlic in 13x9-inch baking pan.

Sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the cheese; drizzle with oil (I forgot the oil!).

Bake 45-55 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and liquid is reduced, stirring occasionally.

 
Baked 15 minutes and stirred before returning to the oven.


Finished sauce, done in 55 minutes.  I don't like my sauces too wet.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. Plate noodles and top with tomato mixture and cheese.

Rodney declared his love of this by saying between bites that we don't have to have meat in our spaghetti anymore. Schwing, daddy. I like the sounds of that since that's less ground beef we'll be buying. It's crazy, but ground beef at about $2.60/lb is generally the most expensive flesh we buy. Isn't ground beef supposed to be cheap?

 

As for me, while I did like it, the sauce didn't have much going in the titillating herb/spice department. It was very simple to prepare and simple on the tongue. Next time, basil is definitely going in there.  No two ways about it.

Cost:

• tomatoes: $0.99
• mushrooms: $2.49
• parsley: $0.15
• Parmesan cheese :$1
• linguine: $0.50

Total: $5.13 or $1.71 for each of three servings, 1 for Rodney and two for me.

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