Spaghetti all'Elsa (sort of)

Spaghetti all'Elsa (sort of)

Salt
1 pound Italian imported dried spaghetti (I used Muellers - my Publix doesn't sell imported dried spaghetti!)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan
3 cloves garlic, crushed (I used minced roasted garlic out of a jar!)
3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/3 cup chicken stock (wich I had some white wine)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (recommended: San Marzano), plus
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I used a small jar of pizza sauce)
Several leaves basil, torn or chopped, a handful
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (I used half parmesan and half asiago)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add pasta. Cook to al dente, with a bite to it.

Heat a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and red pepper and let them cook 5 minutes. Add stock or wine and stir 30 seconds, add tomatoes and combine. Season the sauce with salt, to taste, then stir basil in and reduce heat to low.

I didn't noticed the 14 oz can of tomatoes tacked onto the end of the original recipe and didn't have any in the pantry, so I used a small jar of pizza sauce. Hey, it's Italian! :-)

When pasta is cooked, turn off the heat, drain the pasta then add it back to the still-hot, deep pot. Add butter to spaghetti and toss to melt and coat. Add half the red sauce and all of the cheese, work in a handful at a time as you toss to combine. To serve, use tongs or a meat fork to swirl the pasta into buttery, cheesy mounds to pile onto each plate. Top each portion with spoonfuls of remaining sauce.

I made Italian Cheese Stuffed Chicken to go with this and spooned a bit of this sauce over each chicken roll.

This was OK....definitely not the best Marinara type sauce I've ever had, but not bad. It needs spicing up in my opinion. Adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe.