This is what I made for lunch today, and it’s one of the dishes my kids love most. A pack of spaghetti, a quick tomato sauce cooked with whatever herbs I have in my garden or in the pot on the windowsill, and then, on the plate, mushrooms, olives and a lot of grated feta. It feeds four of us generously, and when the kids are really hungry it stretches to six.
The sauce is the part I want you to try. I simmer a 1-litre bottle of bulion (tomato sauce) with a fresh tomato, parsley, basil, chili and garlic, then I strain it. All the flavour stays in the sauce, and you get something smooth and silky without chopping anything finely.
How it looks in the kitchen
If you have never made a pasta dinner from scratch, this is all the space and equipment you need. Two pots on the stove, a big one for the spaghetti and a small one for the sauce, a cutting board for the herbs, and a strainer. That’s it.
What you need
- One pack of spaghetti, any kind you like.
- One tall 1-litre bottle of bulion (tomato sauce). Bulion is the simplest tomato sauce: tomatoes blended with salt, sometimes a few seasonings, then boiled. I buy the 1-litre bottle from the shop.
- Fresh herbs: two or three stems of parsley and two or three basil leaves. Mine come from the garden or a pot in the kitchen.
- Heat: cayenne pepper and one small chili pepper. Leave the chili out for small children.
- Garlic: one or two cloves, or a little from a jar.
- For the plate: mushrooms from a jar, olives and feta. In Romania I use telemea, our brined white cheese.
Family Spaghetti with Strained Tomato and Herb Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Fill a large pot with water and add a pinch of salt and two or three drops of oil. Bring it to the boil.
- When the water boils, add the spaghetti and cook for a few minutes (check the time on the pack).
- Turn off the heat and leave the spaghetti in the water for 2 to 3 more minutes.
- Drain, throw away the water and keep the spaghetti.
- In a small pot, add just enough oil to cover the bottom and put it on the heat.
- Pour in the whole 1-litre bottle of bulion (tomato sauce).
- Add the chopped tomato, the parsley stems, the basil leaves, the cayenne pepper, the chili pepper, a little salt and the garlic.
- Bring everything to the boil and let it boil gently for a little while.
- Strain the sauce, pressing the herbs and tomato through the strainer. You are left with a smooth sauce full of flavour.
- Divide the hot spaghetti between the plates.
- Add a layer of mushrooms and a few olives.
- Pour the sauce over the top.
- Grate plenty of feta over each plate and serve while the pasta is hot.
Notes
Why strain the sauce?
Because the herbs and chili have already done their job. While the sauce boils, the parsley, basil, chili and garlic flavour it. Straining takes out the stems and skins and leaves you a smooth sauce that coats every strand of spaghetti. It’s also how I get the kids to eat a sauce full of herbs without complaining.
Ways to change it
- Fresh mushrooms fried in a little oil instead of mushrooms from a jar.
- Parmesan instead of feta, if you prefer it milder.
- No chili for the little ones. Add chili flakes at the table for the grown-ups.
Questions people ask
How much spaghetti do I need for four people?
One pack of spaghetti makes four big portions, or six smaller ones.
Can I make the sauce ahead?
Yes. Keep the strained sauce in a closed jar in the fridge for two or three days and warm it up while the pasta cooks.
What is bulion?
Bulion is the simplest tomato sauce. Tomatoes are put through a blender with salt, and sometimes a few seasonings, then boiled. You can buy it in bottles, like the 1-litre bottle I use, or make it at home the same way. It is not a stock cube; it is made of tomatoes.
