Adam's Very Simple [But Very Delicious] Creamy Tomato Pasta

NOTE FROM KATE: Well, folks, after being asked a trillion times, it’s FINALLY time to share an Adam Eskuri recipe. While I personally loooooove cooking myself and am SO passionate about sharing my own nourishing, holistic recipes—

In reality, most of the time of my day-to-day life, Adam is actually the main cook of our household! Which is great news for me because Adam is SO creative & intuitive in the kitchen…and it’s about time we shared one of his recipes!

This is a pasta dish he makes whenever he is trying to make a bit more “impressive” (but still super easy) meal. Think: when the in-laws come over unannounced or a spontaneous last-minute date night in where you want something a bit ~fancier~ than just plain old spaghetti.

Without further adou, here is the first Adam Eskuri written blog post and recipe!!!

foreword:

Do I need a foreword? No.
But am I making one? Yes.

This is Adam Eskuri here— writing a blog post. Let’s do it.

how the heck do I begin a blog post?

When Kate recently shared one of my go-to pasta dishes on her Instagram story, she mentioned that a few of her followers wanted me to write a blog post to share the recipe.

At first I was quite intimidated by the idea. Could I satisfy the needs of those insta followers?! Moreover, after seeing how many monthly readers The Foundation Blog brings in would mean I have to be on my ‘A’ game.

Unfortunately, creative writing isn’t exactly my forte. I once received a ‘B’ in my “Intro to Creative Writing” at the University of Minnesota…. and I must admit, receiving a ‘B’ was quite generous on my professor’s part, but I think she knew I was just fulfilling my liberal education requirement in order to graduate nursing school.

I remember thinking it was absolutely necessary to provide endless metaphors to set the scene and give the audience a clear picture as to what I was trying to portray. This lead to stories drowned out by a subpar narrative with no clear plot or character development. I’d love to go back and reread my past work, but just as Rose told Jack she would never let go, I released the frozen grip of my college writing portfolio and let it sink to the abyss that was my computer’s trash bin #Metaphor. 

After spiraling out of control trying to figure out how I can write a blog post in a way that would appeal to Kate’s audience, I remembered that writing a recipe blog post doesn’t exactly require creativity… does it? So I decided to look up random online recipes for technique and inspiration for my very first post on The Foundation Blog. 

…After just minutes of research, I realized I couldn’t be farther from the truth…

I promise, this pasta recipe isn’t that #deep:

Every single recipe post I clicked on from google starts with an anecdotal family origin story about how this dish came into fruition. Stories like, “I remember back in 1977, the sun was shining, my friends and I were playing ‘Kick the Can’ when I heard my mom yell out it was time for dinner. I rushed home, walked through the front door to the most amazing smell of fried onions and garlic.” Posts like this would drag on and on, endless scrolling through cheap advertisements that accidentally get clicked on with each swipe of the thumb, taking you to a new webpage all together.

I promise I don’t have a core memory of consuming this meal for the first time back from my childhood. Honestly, I had a meal very similar to it at my hospital’s cafeteria just a few months ago. But, with some tweaking and customizing with my own version of the recipe, I have made this dish one of our “go-to” meals for a quick but still delicious dinner.

Look at that, I think I’m getting the hang of this whole recipe blog post. I’ve successfully written almost ten paragraphs that have no evidence or direction towards a completed dish. Just me complaining about the structure of online recipes, only falling into the trap of doing it myself.

…After my long digression, let’s get cooking, shall we? 

This dish is ridiculously easy as it doesn’t call for many ingredients, prep and cooking times are short, and the dish tastes way fancier than it actually is. I ended up making it for Kate’s family and it was a hit (at least that’s what her Grandpa Ron told me).

ingredients:

• Noodles: whatever kind you want. Kate is obsessed with gluten-free elbow noodles, so it’s usually what we have, but I think a gnocchi or penne could be delicious here.

• Olive oil (couple tablespoons?) I usually eyeball how much oil I use. I don’t want to completely drown my chopped onions, but I also don’t want to dry them out completely 

• 1 medium-sized onion: chopped finely. I like the yellow or sweet onions for pan-frying.

• Garlic. I usually use three cloves. Honestly, if you want to cut the prep time, use garlic powder. Fresh is always better, but if you’re making this for me, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. 

• 1 package chopped pancetta

• 1 can of chopped tomatoes. Many brands have an Italian spiced blend, which I’ll typically grab

  • *DO NOT DRAIN OUT THE LIQUID*

• 1/2 cup heavy cream. Maybe a little more if you’re feeling naughty. 

• 1-2 tablespoon butter Again, maybe a little more if you’re feeling freaky

• Shaved parmesan cheese. For taste (…and to make your dish aesthetically pleasing at the end.)

• Optional: Sriracha. Adds a little zing to the dish. And I also just put hot sauce on everything. You don’t need this, but it is quite delicious with this dish. (… I also wait to put it on at the end to add to the #aesthetics.)

spices:

I know, I know… you want specific measurements, but I am a big “eyeball” kinda guy. My advice is to start with the general measurements below, but don’t be afraid to play around and add/detract seasonings based on your preferences!

• Basil: About 1-1.5 tablespoons of dried basil? (This is the main spice of the dish) Or just chop up some fresh basil if you’re feeling like a baddy

• Oregano. Not the star spice, but still important. Just a little can go a long way— maybe like 1/4th teaspoon?

• Italian Spices: Again, maybe like 1/4th teaspoon

• 1 teaspoon sugar: I will quantify this one, don’t want you to overdue the sweetness

• Salt: to taste

• Pepper: to taste

• Optional: Red Pepper Flakes if you want to add a little flair (and spice) into your life. 

This sauce is creamy, filling, hearty, a little unique— and so easy.

Let’s put it all together:

1. First things first: pull up Spotify and start playing “That’s Amore” by Dean Martin. It really helps to set the mood. 

2. Boil water for your noodles. Cook them however long the box calls for. 

3. Heat up a sauce pan with your eyeballed amount of olive oil. Medium heat should suffice. 

4. Once the pan is hot, add in your chopped onion, letting them cook until they slightly turn tannish/brown. 5ish minutes?

5. Add your garlic in right before your onions are complete

6. Toss in the pancetta and let it cook for a hot sec. Smell that? Your child just created a new core memory that will inspire them to write a blog post on this very recipe in twenty years. 

7. Add in the canned tomatoes (liquid and all) and the rest of your spices: basil, oregano, Italian spices, sugar, salt, pepper 

8. Let the dish come to a boil until most of the the liquid evaporates. This will take a few minutes. Continue to stir the dish while the liquid evaporates. 

9. Once the liquid is mostly gone, remove the pan from the heat. Add in the cream and butter. Reduce heat to a simmer and put the pan back on. Continue to stir.

10. Keep tasting your sauce. Does it need any more spices? Don’t be afraid to serve a bold and flavorful dish! I usually keep adding salt, spices, seasoning, etc. by taste until it tastes *chefs kiss*

11. Remember when I said this dish barely takes any time? You’re done. Just like that.

12. Now it’s time to make your dish look as good as it tastes. Put the noodles in a bowl, cover the noodles with the sauce. Next add the shaved parmesan cheese on top. Sprinkle on some more basil and oregano, maybe some red paper flakes as well. I love the way the green spices contrast from the parmesan cheese and the pasta sauce you just created. Squirt on some sriracha in a zig-zag pattern if you’d like it. 

there you have it!

There you have it. A dish so easy to make, but tasty enough to serve to your in-laws. Don’t be surprised if you look over at your family members and they are all looking at you like this ^^^

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