Valentine's Day Cooking Help from Chef Naj

When I was in my mid-20s, navigating dating and Valentine's Day on a budget was a common challenge amongst guys my age. Cooking for your significant other at home was always less expensive, yet equally, if not more romantic than spending a large chunk of your tiny paycheck at a fancy restaurant and screwing yourself at the end of the month.

Here's a recipe I had in my early tool kit that was fresh, easy to do in front of somebody, delicious, dirt cheap, and involves a staple ingredient for many young people who have to be frugal to feed themselves: PASTA.

I call this "summer spaghetti," but only because it involves fresh tomatoes instead of canned. This can be made year-round as the ingredients can be found fresh throughout the year at any grocery store.

Summer Spaghetti

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 2 portions of pasta (You can use any kind of long pasta noodle you like: spaghetti, linguini, bucatini, chittara, fettuccini, angel hair, etc.)
• 3 Tbls shaved raw garlic
• 1 or 2 tsp FRESH CRACKED black pepper. (Always use freshly cracked pepper; the difference in taste from pre-ground is night and day.)
• Parmesan cheese
• 6 to 7 roma tomatoes (You can also use vine or beefsteak if you'd like. If you have the extra money, some heirloom tomatoes make a nice upgrade.)
• Olive oil
• Salt to taste
• Fresh basil (one of those small clamshell containers of basil at the grocery store is more than enough.)

Steps

Get your pasta water heating on your stove before you do anything, be sure to season w/ salt.

Cut a cross on the end of your tomatoes opposite side of the stem. When water reaches a boil, toss in tomatoes, count to 30, remove with tongs and plunge in cold/ice water bath. This will make the skin easy to remove. You don't have to do this, but I find the tomato skin to be annoying to eat. Cut tomatoes in sections to make removing seeds easy. Set aside.

Add your pasta to the water and begin the sauce. The sauce won't take long and will be ready around the time your pasta is ready.

	In a large sauce pan over medium heat, add garlic and enough olive oil to coat. Move garlic around so it cooks evenly.
	When garlic just starts to turn color, add your tomatoes. Toss with garlic.
	Add about 3 tablespoons of water from your pasta pot.
	Simmer tomatoes until they start to break down and turn into a sauce.
	When the pasta is cooked to your liking, remove it from the water, toss in olive oil and add to your sauce pan.
	Toss in sauce and let sit for a minute or two.
	Turn off the heat. Add black pepper, hand-torn fresh basil and a little bit of parmesan.
	Toss everything together. Add salt to your liking.
	Plate and garnish w/ more parmesan, more hand-torn fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

Add-Ons:

• Most Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir or Sangiovese red wines will pair well with a tomato-based pasta, and you don't have to get too expensive to find a decent one.
• Salad dressings with red wine vinegar and oregano will pair great with this. If you have some French or artisan bread, you can make some home-made croutons. Cut into cubes, toss in olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and bake on a sheet tray in a 350 degree oven until golden brown and crunchy.