Super Simple Pasta with Mixed Sauce

Pasta is one of my FAVOURITE things to eat (duh!) and I sorely missed it during the first few months of the pandemic- that is until I started cooking it.

I have a general idea on how to make simple white sauce pasta (which I made a few times) but I started then experimenting around and kept on modifying things till I managed to recreate the exact taste I had in mind.

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These pictures are from some of my first few experiments (I used macaroni)

I didn’t use any veggies because I’m too lazy but I highly recommend that you use them if you can.

Ingredients:-

• 1¼ cups uncooked pasta (I used penne here)
• At least 1½ cups of boiled milk (I used more than this)
• A puree made of tomato and onions (just fry them lightly and puree them in a mixer grinder)
• Homemade Italian Seasoning (I added ½ tbsp of red chilli powder this time)
• Salt
• Around 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• Water

Method:-

Step 1: Salt a pot of water generously and boil the pasta according to the instructions on the packet until al dente.

Step 2: Shift the al dente pasta into a colander to separate it from the hot water. Pour some regular/cold water over the pasta to stop it from cooking and becoming clumpy.

Step 3: Slightly melt the butter in a pan (I usually use a wok), add the flour to it and stir until it becomes aromatic.

Step 4: Add ¼ cups of milk to the mixture and start stirring IMMEDIATELY to avoid lumps. Do NOT dump all your milk into the pan at once- it will become lumpy and gross!

I don’t have any pictures during these steps because the pot needs all my attention and I can’t afford to take any risks and let things become clumpy and gross!

Step 5: Once the mixture in the pan becomes uniform, add another ¼ cup of milk and stir (to avoid lumps)

Step 6: After the mixture becomes uniform, add 2-2½ tbsp of the Homemade Italian Seasoning, ¼ cup of milk, a pinch of salt and stir

Step 7: Repeat Step 5

Step 8: Add the tomato-onion puree and mix.

This picture is from one of my experiments where I didn’t grind the ingredients for my Homemade Italian Seasoning and just chucked them into the pot- do NOT do this!

Step 9: Taste the pasta sauce and check if you think it needs anything- I add around ½-¾ tbsp of salt at this stage but it’s really a personal preference. Tasting as you cook is super important!

Step 10: Add some more milk if needed (the quantity depends on your desired consistency)

I like adding some extra milk and letting my sauce simmer down a little.

Step 11: Add the pasta and gently mix for around 1 minute. I also add a little milk and stir for around 3 seconds right before I add the pasta even though it makes the sauce thinner because I want my sauce to reach its final consistency when the pasta is IN it (thus allowing the pasta to soak up some extra flavor)

I know that this probably might not be the traditional/conventional way to cook pasta but as for now, this is what works best for me! The only way I can probably improve this recipe is with CHEESE!

To make Super Simple White Sauce Pasta, skip Steps 8 and 10 and modify the quantity of the seasoning as needed.

I really love pasta though and will definitely come up with more recipes in the future!

If you have any thoughts or suggestions or some pasta recipes of your own, do comment below and let me know!

Happy Cooking!
#xoxo