Oprah’s easy spaghetti

Oprah's Spaghetti

Tuesday’s new meal was Oprah’s easy spaghetti. I typed this out while watching Oprah ages ago and have never gotten around to actually making it. Seeing as I now have an abundance of cherry tomatoes growing right outside and happened to also be growing marjoram and basil (the other key ingredients), I thought it was time to give this one a go.

Bubble and boil

This really is a very very simple, quick, fresh and delicious recipe. Throw your spaghetti into a pot full of boiling water (with a pinch of salt).

Now comes my rebellion. Oprah’s recipe used fresh uncooked tomatoes which, mixed with pasta, Will and I have a great aversion to. On the great Europe trip, after trudging around Pisa in the rain and finally finding somewhere to quieten our grumbling stomachs, we ordered Penne Pomodoro. This was meant to be a very simple tomato sauce over fresh penne with parmesan. The result couldn’t have been further from it. What arrived in front of us was semi-cooked pasta, topped with unripe, raw slices of tomato and dried out shavings of parmesan. I didn’t think you could get a bad pasta in Italy but I guess I was wrong!

Roasted teeny tiny tomatoes

So while the pasta was boiling, I roasted our tomatoes with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Almost dinner

Once the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and return to the pan. Throw in your tomatoes, chopped basil and marjoram and some salt, pepper, olive oil and parmesan and your dinner is ready. From start to finish including harvesting the ingredients, this recipe took about 12 minutes. Perfect!

Oprah's Spaghetti

Funky Spaghetti a la Oprah

1-14oz of cherry tomatoes – squeeze in a bowl (I roasted mine)

salt

ripped basil

marjoram

olive oil

spaghetti

grated parmesan

All the quantities are adjustable to suit number of people and taste.

Cook spaghetti. Roast tomatoes, or if not roasting, crush into a bowl. Drain cooked spaghetti and return to pot. Add tomatoes, basil, marjoram, salt, pepper, oil and parmesan. Toss and serve.