Weekly Dish

What I Make for Dinner when I’m Dead Tired at the End of the Week, or What to Do with that Jar of Spaghetti Sauce in Your Pantry

Yes, dear readers, it’s true. Sometimes I buy pre-made spaghetti sauce at the grocery store. As a matter of fact, I usually keep a jar on hand for nights just like last night. I may seem like a great big food snob on the surface, but deep down, I really just want to get dinner on the table and have it taste good. And sometimes in the midst of this life I live, that just has to happen with premade stuff. Please don’t tell the foodie police.

Oh, sure, at the beginning of the week, I planned to make my own slow-roasted tomato sauce for the pasta. But by the time 7:00 rolled around last night, I had just walked through the door, ended my first full week of teaching and going to class, and I just didn’t have the energy for anything else. I post this recipe not because it’s some great feat of culinary prowess–it isn’t. I post it just in case you just ever find yourself staring into the deep dark corners of your pantry and you need a quick, hearty way to satisfy your need for dinner. If a jar of Ragu or Bertolli or Prego or whatever catches your eye and you also happen to have pasta and some mushrooms on hand, then this is the recipe for you.

Mushrooms + Jarred Tomato Sauce Pasta
Olive oil + butter
1 small onion, white or yellow, diced
A few cloves of garlic, however many suits your fancy (I think I used 4 or 5), minced
A handful or two of mushrooms, sliced (I think after they were chopped, mine added up to about 2 cups)
A splash of red wine if you have it (a tablespoon or so)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I used Bertolli tomato and basil)
Pasta of your choice (penne for me)
A couple of spoonfuls of cream or half and half (not necessary)
Plenty of Kosher salt
Plenty of Parmesan cheese

Put the pasta on to boil. In a separate skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat (a good swirl around the pan) and about a tablespoon of butter (just for flavor, less if you prefer–or omit it altogether). Toss the onions, garlic, and mushrooms into the skillet (I do it in that order, so the onions go in first, then I chop the garlic and add it, and then slice the mushrooms and add them). Cook until the vegetables are beginning to turn golden and caramelize just a bit, about 10-12 minutes. Season very well with Kosher salt and stir in the wine. Dump in the sauce and let it simmer while the pasta finishes cooking. I usually throw together a salad at this point and slice some bread. When you’re ready to serve, stir in a good handful of grated Parmesan, a spoonful or two of cream, and spoon the sauce over the pasta. Hooray, dinner is ready!

Posted: Friday, January 20th, 2006 at 9:09 am Filed under: Main Dish, Pasta. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.