MANILA, Philippines — When Mama Sita’s marketing executive and weekend kitchen warrior Ces Nepomuceno-Gamad cooks at home, she really cooks up a storm, and pasta is one of her favorite dishes to prepare. She likes the idea of enjoying Italian fine dining without spending too much.
“But what I truly like about it is that, just like Pansit, you can throw in whatever ingredients you have in your pantry. Simple combinations of flavors work well with pasta,” she explained.
So, for this pasta dish, which she simply calls Linguine, she puts all the good stuff together. She uses linguine (“because it looks fancy like fettuccine”) but easier to slurp (“like spaghetti”).
She also takes advantage of the fact that the price of tomatoes has “mellowed down” after hitting an exorbitant high and the tomatoes are plumper and redder these days.
“We got a kilogram of tomatoes in Batangas for P50, which was very reasonable coming from almost P300 per kilogram last Christmas,” she said.
Linguine
Ingredients:
500 grams linguine, boiled as per package instructions for about 10 minutes
1 cup pasta water, set aside from boiling linguine
4 tbsps. oil (lauric/coconut oil is preferred, or olive oil)
1 head garlic, sliced in half, crosswise
150 grams kamatis (native tomatoes), roughly chopped
100 grams mushrooms (canned button mushrooms or dried shiitake, soaked in hot water), sliced
Shaved Queso de bola (optional)
For the choice of herbs:
3 pcs. oregano
1 stem rosemary, or
A few pieces basil leaves
Procedure:
1. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil and place halved garlic with the cross section down at the bottom. Turn the heat down and let the garlic brown very gently, allowing the flavor to infuse delicately. This takes a few minutes. (Tip: The heavy-bottomed pan regulates the heat well and prevents the garlic from burning or browning too quickly.)
2. Add in chopped tomatoes and mushrooms and sauté. Cover for a couple of minutes. Season sauce with your choice of herbs.
3. Toss in cooked linguine. Stir to incorporate the sauce. Add pasta water to prevent it from drying out. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with shaved Queso de bola, or whatever cheese you have, on top. This is optional.
*Serves 4 to 5 persons.