Linguine with Caper Sauce
Many years ago we ate dinner with one of Doug’s bosses. They lived in a small house in the bay area of California. It had taken them years to save enough to buy the house and it was a fixer when they got it. That was the state of real estate in California back then and I’m not sure much has changed.
One thing they had done was put in an herb garden. It was fairly new so this night they told us they had “killed the fatted basil” for us. This dish was simple, but the flavors of the pepper, basil and capers were so delicious that we have added it to our collection.
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
10 oz linguine, uncooked
1 tbs butter
2 clv fresh garlic, minced
½ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
1 tbs dried oregano, fresh can be used if available
1 tbs freshly ground pepper
1 jar capers, drained
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions:
Fill large pot with water and bring to a boil. Place linguine into boiling water and return water to a boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes, then cover and turn off heat.
Melt butter in a large skillet. Sauté garlic in butter. Add tomato sauce, basil, oregano and pepper. Simmer 10 minutes. Add capers. Simmer 5 minutes.
When linguine is tender, move to the skillet with the sauce using tongs. Reserve the pasta water . Toss linguine with caper sauce. Add the cheese and a ladle of pasta water. Toss well to dissolve the cheese, adding more pasta water if needed.
Serving suggestion: top each serving with a sprinkle of parmesan and some chopped basil leaves.