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Plate of spaghetti with tomato sauce, mushrooms, black olives and crumbled feta

Family Spaghetti with Strained Tomato and Herb Sauce

Spaghetti with a quick bulion sauce simmered with fresh tomato, herbs, chili and garlic, strained smooth and topped with mushrooms, olives and feta.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 big portions
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: European
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Pasta
  • 1 pack spaghetti any kind you like
  • water a large pot
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 2-3 drops oil
Sauce
  • oil just enough to cover the bottom of the pot
  • 1 bottle bulion (tomato sauce) the tall 1-litre bottle
  • 1 fresh tomato chopped
  • 2-3 stems parsley
  • 2-3 leaves basil
  • cayenne pepper to taste
  • 1 small chili pepper
  • salt just a bit
  • 1-2 cloves garlic or a little minced garlic from a jar
To serve
  • mushrooms from a jar drained
  • olives
  • feta cheese grated, a lot; Romanian telemea is perfect

Method
 

Cook the spaghetti
  1. Fill a large pot with water and add a pinch of salt and two or three drops of oil. Bring it to the boil.
  2. When the water boils, add the spaghetti and cook for a few minutes (check the time on the pack).
  3. Turn off the heat and leave the spaghetti in the water for 2 to 3 more minutes.
  4. Drain, throw away the water and keep the spaghetti.
Make the sauce
  1. In a small pot, add just enough oil to cover the bottom and put it on the heat.
  2. Pour in the whole 1-litre bottle of bulion (tomato sauce).
  3. Add the chopped tomato, the parsley stems, the basil leaves, the cayenne pepper, the chili pepper, a little salt and the garlic.
  4. Bring everything to the boil and let it boil gently for a little while.
  5. Strain the sauce, pressing the herbs and tomato through the strainer. You are left with a smooth sauce full of flavour.
Serve
  1. Divide the hot spaghetti between the plates.
  2. Add a layer of mushrooms and a few olives.
  3. Pour the sauce over the top.
  4. Grate plenty of feta over each plate and serve while the pasta is hot.

Notes

Straining the sauce is the secret. The herbs, chili and garlic give it all their flavour while it boils, and then you take them out, so the sauce is smooth and the kids don't find any bits.
One pack makes four big portions. For smaller appetites it stretches to six.