This spicy tomato pasta is the perfect standby meal. It’s quick and easy to prepare and makes a great midweek meal with tasty leftovers too if you make enough!
This is my number one standby meal and I seem to make it at least once every couple of weeks, sometimes even once a week. It’s really quick and easy to make. I start cooking the pasta and by the time the pasta is ready, the sauce is too.
You may be thinking that to get a really rich tasty pasta sauce you need to simmer the sauce for a long time for it to thicken and develop in flavour. That’s true. However, sometimes you just want a quick and tasty meal and that’s still possible without the long simmer.
A store cupboard meal
For us this spicy tomato pasta is definitely a store cupboard recipe. It uses ingredients that we always have at home. Tinned tomatoes are a staple ingredient in so many recipes – curries, stews, soups as well as some of my other pasta recipes. I always have a few tins of tomatoes in the cupboard.
Tomatoes, peppers and onions are the vegetables that I always have at home too. I use onions in so many recipes that I am always stocked up. Fresh tomatoes and peppers are also vegetables that I use so much I always seem to have a few in the fridge.
Can you use fresh herbs?
Of course you can if you have them but if you have a well stocked supply of dried herbs it’s great when you need to create a delicious store cupboard meal. Oregano or basil both work really well in this spicy tomato pasta dish.
Why this spicy tomato pasta recipe is special
This dish is quite special for me as it is one of the meals my husband cooked for me back when we first met. Nowadays it’s normally me who does the cooking but I still make it the way he likes. That means adding the fresh tomatoes at the last minute and not cooking the onions too much.
I also have this recipe to thank for helping me develop my love of spicy food. Because it was such a popular recipe it gradually became spicier and spicier. At first very little chilli pepper was added but one day I realised I actually could handle spicy food. I already loved spices and using spices in cooking but I then began using chilli peppers in all kinds of recipes too.
How to adapt this easy tomato pasta recipe
This pasta recipe is easy to adapt and I often vary the recipe depending on what we have in the fridge. If you have courgettes or aubergines they go very well. I also like to add a few olives.
If you don’t have tinned tomatoes then use extra diced fresh tomatoes plus a little tomato puree. You could also use passata as a substitute.
Storing and reheating the leftovers
Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to three days and then reheated either in the oven or microwave. I do find that the pasta tends to absorb more of the sauce and is a little less al dente though!
Alternatively you can store the pasta and the sauce separately. Stir a little olive oil through the cooked pasta to prevent it sticking and then store it in an airtight container. The sauce can also be stored separately in another airtight container.
You can also freeze the leftovers for up to three months. Defrost and then reheat the cooked pasta and sauce in the oven or in the microwave until piping hot.
