Chop! Chop! Chop! My kitchen knife seemed to relish as I attacked mindlessly a superfluity of garlic. After mincing the last batch, salted water on the stockpot started to bubble under high heat. On the second burner, I placed a large sauce pan and subjected it to low fire. Onions, bell pepper and tomatoes had been diced and set aside. On the far side of the table, crushed tomatoes mixed with fresh basil were already setting. Good, the hard part was done, at last! I needed a little breather; preparation stage of cooking was always the most laborious. I went to the fridge and got an ice cold beer. The early evening was humid. Sweat drops dotted my forehead and my shirt clung to my damp back. The drink was deep and refreshing like first drops of rain on a parched land from a long drought. Whew, that was so good! I’m ready, time to start the fun part.
Days before the much-awaited Condura Run, I decided to carbo-load with old-fashioned pasta. Three nights to go, three different home-made pasta dishes to enjoy. Ahhh, my wife and kids would be happy for the treat. First night, I would be working with linguine noodles with olive oil based sauce accented with cherry tomato and thyme. I could already imagine the Mediterranean taste.
The water was now boiling. I dripped some oil to the water before dunking the noodles. Linguine was my favorite noodles. The flat surface offered more area for the sauce to stick than the common round spaghetti. It’s not so wide like the fettuccine so I would be able to sip loose strands naturally. On the sauce pan, I downed quarter of a liter of thick refined olive oil. I would have used the virgin type but I ran the risk of burning un-refined components that could affect the taste. Anyway, virgin olive oil is best served cold not hot, I reasoned unconvincingly. The garlic went to the pan. It sizzled slowly like small lighted firecrackers. The gastronomic pungent aroma wafted in the kitchen. Oh, yeah! Before it turned to golden brown, I dropped the onion, bell pepper and chopped tomato. The mixture let out a sweet spicy smell making my mouth water. When the garlic was fully golden and the onion translucent, I poured the mashed tomato-basil mixture to the fusion of oil and spices. The long handled wooden spatula slowly and tenderly stirred the thickening sauce. I gulped another mouthful of beer enjoying its coolness amidst the heat of the kitchen.
The main ingredient of the sauce was the cherry tomato and thyme. Cherry tomato, upon biting, releases a sudden explosion of sharp sourness. Then the taste will thin and diffuse to the length of the tongue and mouth spreading a very rich welcome flavor.
Thyme, like basil, partners well with tomato. It blends with and enhances other herbs without an overriding taste.
Some minutes more before the noodles got cooked, I dropped the washed, water-dripping cherry tomatoes. Thyme leaves were separated from the stem by finger-scraping against the growth then sprinkled into the sauce.
By this time, the noodles should be nearly cooked. I scooped a noodle and carefully bit testing for firmness. The hardness was gone yet it still offered resistance. Perfect, Al Dente! I turned off the heat on the pasta and drained it saving a cup of the pasta water. I placed the cooked pasta into a glass Pyrex container. This deserved another gulp of the frosty beer. Ahhhh, life! If only I’m beside the beach…
I poured the pasta water into the sauce and let it simmer stirring softly. That should add body and creaminess to the sauce. After five minutes, I turned off the fire and poured the steaming sauce into the freshly cooked noodles. Voila! A dinner packed with goodness and energy in half an hour. Same time to finish a comfortable 5K run.
As the family enjoyed the sumptuous feast, I was already thinking of tomorrow. Hmmm, chicken, rosemary in a creamy garlic sauce; I can’t stop drooling…
