Easy Tomato, Garlic, & Basil Pasta (a 6 ingredient guide)

Whenever I make a simple tomato base pasta, this is my favorite method of making it. You’ll see that this recipe does not have specific measurements, this is because I want you to use it as a guide and cook with the ingredients you have on hand or feel like adding in.

So let’s make a very simple tomato, garlic, and basil pasta with some “steak” on the side. We are utilizing only 6 ingredients to create something super flavorful. There is minimal ingredient prep and comes together within 30min.

Click HERE to watch the recipe video!

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 1 serving size

• The Steak: Use your preferred cut of beef
  • I used a strip of rib finger in this picture but any cut of beef will work. If you don’t want beef, you can also use a different choice of protein as this will be paired with the pasta.
  • Season the steak with black pepper, salt, and a bit of oil (any type of high smoke point oil will work)
• 4-6 big cloves of garlic (or more)
• 1 serving size of spaghetti
• Canned plum tomatoes or fresh tomatoes
• Basil (Fresh/Dried)
• Parmesan (or your choice of hard cheese)

STEPS:

1. Make the steak: Feel free to cook the steak as you normally would
   • This is what I did: seasoned my room temp steak by covering the beef with a layer of oil and rubbing in salt and pepper. Once seasoned, I place it onto a hot stainless steel pan with a bit of oil at the bottom. Each side was seared to form a golden crust before being cooked through to medium.
2. In the pan, while the steak is being cooked, add the garlic cloves whole so it can caramelize and soften
3. Move both the steak and garlic onto a plate to rest
4. In a pot, bring some water to boil and heavily salt it. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente
5. In the same pan (don’t clean it) on low heat, add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Let it cook until the tomatoes are soft enough to smoosh into a chunky sauce
6. Using the side of a knife, press the garlic cloves against a chopping board until it turns into a paste and add it into the tomato with some basil (optional crack of black pepper as well)
7. Add the al dente spaghetti to the sauce along with a cup of pasta water. Add some grated cheese at this stage and then aggressively stir the pasta to emulsify the sauce
8. Plate up the pasta, slice the steak and add it to the side, then cover the pasta with grated cheese!