- Hey guys.
If you would like a super
easy weeknight meal,
then you can't go wrong
with a pantry pasta.
Pantry pastas are so quick and easy,
because they are made
with things you probably
have sitting in your pantry or fridge.
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Okay let me show you how
to make this delicious,
creamy sun dried tomato pasta.
I'm working with a six
and a half ounce jar
of sun dried tomatoes.
So you can go ahead and
transfer the sun dried tomatoes
into a blender.
You could also use a food processor
if that's easier for you.
And then I just take
the jar and fill it up
with water and then add
that into the blender.
So that's about three
quarters cup of water
or you could just fill up the jar,
whatever is easier.
Now if you don't have a
jar of sun dried tomatoes
sitting in the pantry,
this would also be great
with a jar of pesto sauce.
That would work too.
And then you're also gonna
add two cloves of garlic,
and a tablespoon of
dried Italian seasoning.
Now if you don't have
Italian seasoning sitting
in the pantry,
you could also use a
tablespoon of dried oregano
or a tablespoon of dried basil,
that would work too.
And then I also like to add a
quarter cup of fresh parsley.
If you don't have the fresh parsley,
it's not a big deal.
But if you do, it's great to throw in.
Then you're just gonna whirl this up
until a chunky paste forms.
So don't worry.
It's not gonna become completely smooth.
You actually wanna keep it a
little bit on the chunky side.
And then you can set that aside.
Then at this point, you
can get your pasta going.
So in a large stockpot,
you wanna add a pound of rigatoni.
You could also use penne
or any other kind of pasta you like.
Okay so now we're gonna
make our Bechamel sauce.
I love Bechamel sauce
because it can be the basis
of so many great sauces.
And chances are you
always have butter, flour,
and milk on hand.
So it comes together super
quick and it's easy to make.
So we're first gonna melt four tablespoons
of unsalted butter.
Once that's nice and foamy,
you can go ahead an add
the three tablespoons
of all purpose flour.
You wanna whisk this
together and let it cook
for at least a minute.
This is gonna really activate that flour
and kind of get that flour
taste out of this mixture.
If you've ever tried
to make Bechamel sauce
and it doesn't thicken,
chances are you didn't do
the one minute cooking time.
(laughs)
Because that's what I find
really makes the difference
between a runny Bechamel sauce
and a creamy thick Bechamel sauce.
So don't skip that step.
And at this stage, we're
going to add two cups of milk.
It can be whole milk, 2%,
whatever you have sitting
in the fridge is fine.
And then whisk that
together until combined,
and then we're also gonna
add one garlic clove
that has been minced,
a half a teaspoon of salt,
and some freshly cracked pepper.
Now I know we already
put garlic and seasoning
in our sun dried tomato paste,
but this is a really important tip
especially if you're
just learning to cook.
And that is,
you really wanna make sure
that you flavor each level
of a recipe.
So if you're making two components
that will ultimately combine,
make sure that you're seasoning both,
so that they're both are
really strong on their own.
Don't rely on the seasoning
of one to season the other.
You'll be happier in the end,
because it'll be a lot
more flavorful in the end.
At this point, you can add
your sun dried tomato paste
into the Bechamel sauce.
Just whisk it together until combined.
Now at this stage,
if you've taken the Bechamel
sauce a little too far,
and you find that it's too thick,
you can go ahead and ladle in
some of that hot pasta water
to thin it out a bit.
And it's also hot,
so it's not gonna cool down the sauce
that you're actually cooking.
At this stage we're gonna drain our pasta
and then you wanna place
it back in to the pot
that you cooked the pasta in,
because this is where
we're gonna toss the pasta
with the sauce.
I like to add a handful
or two of fresh spinach
to the sauce just because
it is kind of creamy
and decadent,
and I like to just throw
in a little nutrition.
But if you don't have spinach,
you could also kale or Swiss chard.
Really any kind of power
green would be great.
And then you can just
stir that into the sauce
until your spinach is nice and wilted.
Then go ahead and pour
the sauce into the pasta,
give it a toss, and then pour it
into a large bowl.
And then at this stage,
I also like to just add some
freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
A little bit more fresh parsley.
And I also like to top
it with a little bit
of red pepper flakes.
If you would like to know some other quick
and easy pasta dishes,
then you can click this annotation here,
and that will take you to a whole playlist
of some of my favorite pasta recipes.
All right you guys,
I'll see you over there.
