Warm tomato rigatoni with olives, sun-dried tomato, mozzarella, cheese, and a crisp side of lettuce, pepper, and cherry tomatoes. About 25 minutes, serves 1.
A warm rigatoni bowl built from a quick tomato sauce with onion, olives, and sun-dried tomato, then balanced with crisp lettuce, red pepper, and cherry tomatoes. Mozzarella and chopped mild cheese make it satisfying without turning it into a heavy cream sauce.Serves 1 generously · about 25 minutes
Ingredients
The pasta
100–120 g rigatoni or another short pasta
1 tbsp olive oil
½ small onion, roughly chopped
2–3 sun-dried tomato pieces, chopped
5–6 black olives, chopped
150–200 g canned chopped tomatoes
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp garlic granules
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt, to taste
A splash of pasta water, as needed
The bowl
4–5 small mozzarella balls, torn or left whole
30–40 g mild cheese, finely chopped or grated
A handful of crisp lettuce, roughly chopped
½ small red pepper, chopped
5–6 cherry tomatoes, halved or left whole
Method
Start the pasta. Bring a small pot of well-salted water to the boil. Add the rigatoni and cook until just tender, following the packet timing. Before draining, save a small mugful of pasta water.
Soften the onion. While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not deeply browned.
Build the flavour base. Add the chopped sun-dried tomato and olives. Cook for 1–2 minutes so their oil and salt season the onion.
Make the sauce. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, then add oregano, basil, garlic granules, and black pepper. Simmer for 5–7 minutes, until slightly reduced. Taste before adding salt—the olives, sun-dried tomato, and cheese already bring plenty.
Prepare the fresh half. Chop the lettuce and red pepper, then halve some of the cherry tomatoes. Keep them raw so the bowl has temperature and texture contrast.
Coat the pasta. Add the drained rigatoni to the tomato pan and toss well. Add a splash of pasta water if the sauce needs loosening; it should cling to the tubes rather than pool in the bowl.
Assemble. Spoon the warm pasta into one side of a wide bowl. Add the lettuce, pepper, and tomatoes beside it. Finish the pasta with mozzarella and chopped cheese, letting some of it soften from the heat.
Notes
Keep it flexible. The useful pattern is warm pasta plus a strongly flavoured tomato base, fresh vegetables, and a little cheese. The exact vegetables can change with the fridge.
Use two cheeses differently. Mozzarella gives cool, soft bites; finely chopped or grated firm cheese melts into the hot sauce.
Do not cook the salad. Keeping the lettuce, pepper, and tomatoes separate makes the bowl fresher and more substantial than pasta alone.
Make two portions easily. Double the pasta and tomato, use the full onion and pepper, and scale the cheese to taste.
Good without meat. The olives, sun-dried tomato, tomato sauce, and cheese provide enough savoury depth on their own.
