Tasty and Hasty Pasta by The Careless Cook

Tasty and Hasty Pasta by The Careless Cook

 

Sometimes things just spring to mind.  No, not that.  I’m referring to food.  I’d just had a swim and was driving home when pasta did the springing.  My body was begging for some solid carbs with Italian flavors, accompanied of course by some Italian vino.

 

My water-soaked mind quickly reviewed the contents of the pantry, with a glimpse into the freezer section of the frig.

 

Had this, had that, had those other things. Good supply of fruit of the wine. All I was missing was pasta.  Could have been something of a show-stopper.

 

But, the show never stops for The Careless Cook!  My self-steering car automatically pulled into the parking lot of a friendly grocer.

 

A self-steering car?  You may well ponder.  Yes, I was steering it myself.  And I was lying about the friendly grocer.  It was a large supermarket chain; impersonal, but stocked with a vast array of what I was looking for. In seconds I was in and out and headed home. 

 

You see, meals don’t take a lot of planning, if you keep your kitchen well stocked with healthy supplies and your mind well supplied with a sense of culinary adventure.

 

I know my three faithful readers are all about adventure and I can see by their half empty wine glasses they’re ready to join me in the kitchen.

 

Let me top you off with another splash or two of a nice, silky smooth Primitivo. Salute! (Sal-ut-tey)

 

Tasty and Hasty Pasta From The Careless Cook

 

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

a package of sliced mushrooms

2 spring onions, sliced

1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in two

1 cup chopped, oil cured, sundried tomatoes

At least two big handfuls of fresh spinach

1 package of pasta (I used Mueller’s Lemon Pepper Rotini) I found that the short rounded pasta blends better when you’re not using a sauce.

Salt and pepper to taste

Italian seasoning to taste

Olive oil as needed

Grated Italian cheese and chopped cilantro for garnish

 

Puttin’ It Together

 

Boil the pasta according to package directions.

Sautee the sliced mushrooms in a little bit of oil, until they are lightly browned.

 

In a larger pan, cook the ground beef, breaking it up as much as you can.  When the beef is cooked add all the other ingredients except the spinach, but including the sautéed mushrooms, and cook until the cherry tomatoes are softened.  Add the spinach and continue to cook until the spinach is wilted.  Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pasta pot.  Slosh in a little olive oil and stir.

Add the cooked beef mélange to the pasta and stir.  Questo è tutto! That’s it!

Plate it, add the garnishes and slosh some more wine in the glasses!

No doubt you will be greeted with applause and a request for more wine.