Another Great Arugula Recipe

...at least in my opinion :)

I'm still picking arugula from my garden and it's kind of fun to dream up new ways to cook with it.  As in all my recipes, I like to keep things as simple as possible and use ingredients I have on hand.

So tonight, I had a handful of arugula

1/2 box of whole wheat penne pasta that I cooked, drained and tossed with extra virgin olive oil

and a little (about 1 1/2 cups) of left over tomato sauce that I made for homemade pizza the other day.  As an aside, this pizza sauce is E.A.S.Y., delicious and very versatile.  I'll share the recipe at the end of this post.

To make this dish I thinly sliced the washed and stemmed arugula and thinly sliced a clove of garlic.

Over medium/low heat I sauteed the garlic for about 30 seconds, then added the arugula and cooked it until the arugula began to wilt, about 3-4 minutes.

I added the tomato sauce and simmered for about 4 minutes.

Then in went the pasta; stir until thoroughly combined.

Simmer over low heat until pasta is heated through.  Plate and top with a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano and serve.

Buon Appetito :)

Simple Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes
1 tsp dried basil
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup water
1-2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Kosher salt

In a small frying pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.  Be careful not to let it scorch or the garlic will taste bitter.

In a bowl, stir together the garlic-oil mixture, tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, pepper, water and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vinegar.  Season to taste with salt and add additional vinegar if necessary.  Use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for at least a week.  It also freezes well.  When seasoning with the red wine vinegar, add just enough to make the flavor really sparkle; the sauce shouldn't taste tangy. 

This is my basic, go-to pizza sauce and simple, virtually no-cook tomato sauce.  It's really tasty and lends itself to many different dishes.  I really hope you try this one :)