Kitchen Sink Pasta
An easy meal for a weeknight
Let’s take a short break from philosophizing and start talking about actual recipes! Don’t worry, I won’t give you a life’s story before I tell you how to make this easy, weeknight pasta.
KITCHEN SINK PASTA
In a large bowl, mix together cooked pasta and whatever other ingredients you happen to have in your larders.
Serve warm and sprinkled generously with Parmesan cheese.
I am not oversimplifying when I say that Kitchen Sink Pasta is one of the easiest, most adaptable meals you can add to your repertoire. The reason the preceding recipe is so vague is because we literally don’t have a set recipe for Kitchen Sink Pasta. In fact, we call it Kitchen Sink Pasta specifically because we throw just about everything in with the pasta.
The base recipe is one that I adapted from my mother.
MOM’S PASTA & VEGGIES:
To cooked fusilli add assorted frozen veggies (peas, carrots, green beans, etc) that have been sautéd in garlic and butter.
To this base I tend to add sausages in with the cooking veggies. We use whatever we happen to have in the fridge, which is usually hot or sweet Italian sausage. The kids enjoy the additional protein.
Other versions I’ve made swap fusilli for penne or farfalle (bowties) and other short pastas. You could try longer pastas, like spaghetti or linguine, but I find those don’t lend well to the chunkier ingredients.
Speaking of ingredients, whatever you have on hand in your fridge or pantry will work to make Kitchen Sink Pasta. The only must have ingredient for this dish, in my opinion, is garlic. It lends a savoriness and gives the veggies a good kick.
I understand that the prospect of staring into your pantry and coming up with a meal seems daunting, but the good news is that Kitchen Sink Pasta is forgiving. Here are some recent examples of pastas I’ve thrown together in the last few weeks:
Monday - Fusilli with Canned Salmon, Spinach, Lemon, and Garlic
Wednesday - Rigatoni with Sweet Italian Sausage, Garlic, and Frozen Veggies
Friday - Penne with Ground Turkey, Broccoli, Spinach, Garlic, and Onions
My hope is that this recipe, though vague, gives you license to be free and creative in your kitchen. Understanding what flavors work together is critical, but you really can’t go wrong with veggies and a choice of meat. Chicken, ham, and pork are excellent options, and canned tuna or sardines make an excellent alternative to salmon. As for veggies, everything from mushrooms to tomatoes is going to work. It’s really up to you what you do. Just know that you can make a good meal for your family, regardless of what you’ve got on hand. This meal should not take longer than half hour to make start to finish.
