Tomato Paste Pasta Sauce

Last night, I really wanted pasta, but didn't have any tomato sauce. I did have a tube of tomato paste in my pantry, though, so I decided to make my own sauce with that. Here's how to do it.

I'm a bad blogger, so this isn't actually my pasta (photo credit: Jeanette's Healthy Living), but it looked like this minus the sprig of basil.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tube tomato paste (mine was 5.3 ounces)
• 5-6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
• 1/3 box of pasta (I used angel hair)

1. Boil water and throw in your pasta
2. Heat olive oil, garlic, and tomato paste in a skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until garlic is lightly browned
3. Reduce to low-medium heat until pasta is cooked and add oregano and basil (and any other spices you like)
4. Drain pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water
5. Stir pasta water in with sauce
6. Toss pasta into sauce
7. Enjoy!

Next time, I might add a little sugar to sweeten it up, but it satisfied my pasta craving in a pinch. Hopefully it will help you next time you find yourself sauce-less but in a saucy mood.