Pasta Mafalda

Ingredients 

•1 pkg Pasta Mafalda (or any pasta you like!)

•1- 2 quarts Tomato Passata (This is a simple, smooth tomato sauce strained of seeds, skins, or large clumps of tomato.)

•Basil 

•Salt

•Parmigiano

Directions
In a large pot, cook your tomato passata with two leaves of basil and salt to taste. Bring it up to a hot simmer, then turn down the heat and simmer on low to cook it down to the desired thickness. We use freshly pressed tomatoes preserved from the garden, and depending on the crop that year, there can be more or less water, so cooking times vary.

Once your sauce is the desired thickness (sometimes this can take an hour or two), bring a large pot of water to a boil and make sure to salt your water. 

Once boiling, add your pasta and cook for about 1-2 minutes less than the package instructs. The pasta will continue to cook when removed from the water, and this way, you'll end up with perfectly al dente pasta!

When done, remove pasta from the water and place directly into a large family sized pasta bowl (do not rinse) and then add your sauce, careful not to over sauce. You can keep the extra sauce warm on the stove for those who would like to add a little more to their dish.

Top with Parmigiano, and serve immediately. Enjoy! 

Notes:

We always use garden-preserved tomato passata, which gives this sauce a sweetness and a smooth texture that is especially liked by the children. But don't forget the Parmigiano!