Yummy Farfalle

I haven't been making any pretty bentos lately, frankly because I've been kind'a busy. But I have had a chance to cook for dinner recently. Below is an Italian dish I made last week using farfalle (Italian for "butterflies") pasta. I didn't really have anything specific in mind while I was making it. I kind of just threw some ingredients together, and viola!

©2006 Yuzu Eats

Here's the quasi-recipe. I didn't measure everything exactly, so these are approximations:

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
2 14½-oz. cans of diced tomatoes
1 tsp. chopped basil
¼ tsp. thyme
¼ tsp. rosemary
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
ground red cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tsp. white wine
1 16-oz. package of farfalle pasta

½ tsp. extra virgin olive oil (and add'l to prevent pasta from sticking)In a large skillet, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and chopped onions to the skillet and cook until slightly brown. Add the lean ground beef and keep stirring until the meat is cooked all the way through (no red!). There should be very little to no fat drippings if you use lean beef, but drain if necessary. Once meat is done, add the canned tomatoes and blend well. Toss in the basil, thyme and rosemary. Sprinkle a little bit of ground black pepper and red cayenne pepper (just enough to to add a little bit of a 'kick'). Then add the white wine. Keep stirring so that the herbs will distribute evenly throughout the sauce. It will be slightly thin. Let simmer over a low heat so that some of the 'juice' will evaporate.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add several drops of extra virgin olive oil to the water and add the pasta. Cook according to the directions written on the package. Drain and serve immediately with meat sauce on top. Garnish with parsley, if desired. I used regular parsley here because I didn't have any flatleaf parsley on hand.

Serves 4 healthy portions.