Try this Red Sauce Penne Pasta Recipe recipe, or contribute your own.
- pasta - 2 cup (any type)
- onion - 1 finely chopped
- tomatoes - 3 medium
- capsicum - 1 cut into square
- yellow bell pepper - 1 cut into square
- garlic - 2 tsp finely chopped
- sweet corn - 1/2 cup boiled
- red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
- black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
- cooking oil - 1tbsp + 1 tsp (for boiling pasta)
- salt - to taste + 1/2 tsp salt
- grated cheese - 1/2 cup
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (0g)
- Sodium 0 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat water in a pan and add penne pasta, 1 tsp cooking oil and ½ tsp salt. Boil pasta and keep aside.
- Now, blend tomatoes to a smooth paste.
- In a pan, heat oil and saute capsicum and yellow bell pepper and remove on tissue paper to drain excess oil.
- In the same pan, add 2 tsp oil and saute chopped garlic. Do not turn it brown.
- Add chopped onion to the pan. Cook till onion become translucent.
- Add prepared tomato paste to the onion. Mix well.
- When the raw taste goes away from tomatoes add red chili powder, black pepper and salt to taste. Mix Well.
- Add 2 tbsp tomato ketchup. Stir.
- Add boiled sweet corn and pan-fried capsicum and yellow bell pepper. Mix.
- Add boiled pasta. Mix very well as to coat pasta with the red sauce.
- Add grated cheese over the pasta and mix well. Remove from gas.
- Red Sauce pasta is ready. Serve hot.
Vibrant red sauce coats tubular pasta alongside sweet corn and tender bell peppers, finishing with a blanket of melted cheese that binds the individual pieces together. Tomatoes form the foundational base of this dish, requiring thorough reduction until their raw, acidic bite dissipates entirely. Simmering the blended tomatoes over medium heat drives off excess moisture, preventing the final sauce from becoming watery and ensuring proper adhesion to the ridges of the pasta. Standard pots work adequately for boiling and sautéing, though a wide skillet provides a greater surface area for evaporating tomato liquids rapidly.
Scaling this recipe requires attention to volumetric ratios, particularly when increasing the quantity of pasta and vegetables. Doubling the batch necessitates a larger vessel, preferably a twelve-inch skillet or wider, to guarantee that the bell peppers and onions retain contact with the heat source instead of steaming. Crowding the pan prevents proper browning of the aromatics and leaves excess liquid trapped in the vegetables. Adjusting the red chili powder and black pepper proportionally maintains the intended heat profile, while salt additions should be tested incrementally after the cheese is incorporated.
Garlic requires careful temperature management during the initial sauté phase, as the minced cloves burn easily and impart a bitter compound to the oil. Keeping the heat at medium-low allows the aromatics to soften without taking on color, releasing essential oils into the pan to flavor the subsequent additions. Bell peppers and capsicum benefit from rapid frying before joining the sauce, which concentrates their natural sugars and retains a slight crunch. Removing these vegetables onto paper towels absorbs surplus surface oil and prevents the finished sauce from separating.
Leftovers maintain acceptable texture for up to three days when sealed in an airtight container in the refrigerator, though the pasta will continue absorbing moisture from the sauce over time. Reheating requires gentle application of low heat on a stovetop, accompanied by a tablespoon of water to restore the emulsion of the sauce. Microwave reheating tends to concentrate heat unevenly and can cause the cheese solids to separate from the fat, yielding a grainy texture. Freezing is not recommended because thawed tomatoes release water and ruin the structural integrity of the dish.
