Emilia Bartoschik shares with us her go-to pasta recipe for the chefs among us who aren’t exactly the keenest.

By Emilia Bartoschik | Jan 30 2023

I came across this easy pasta recipe on Elizabeth Gillies’ Instagram Account a couple of years ago, she intended to share a healthy pasta recipe. I have since given it little twists here and there. This recipe has changed my life as I don’t cook a lot. Nevertheless, I find myself craving this recipe after a full day of studying and it is my go-to when I don’t know what else to cook. The rocket leaves are an addition that I made last year.

I was sitting by the lake on campus with a friend and he told me about all these recipes that he has from his mother and how he cooks almost every day. I, on the other hand, don’t cook as much as I simply don’t have the time. He mentioned adding rocket leaves to pasta sauces to make them more interesting. The next time that I made my pasta sauce, I added rocket leaves, and my tastebuds were blown away. This sauce is great to use up leftover veggies or bring vitamins into your food as well, just add them in. 

Ingredients for 1 person:

• 200g Pasta 
• 150g cherry tomatoes 
• 1 onion 
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot
• A handful of rockets 
• Salt 
• Pepper 
• (vegan) Parmesan

Other things needed: 

• A knife
• A pot
• A pan
• A cutting board
• A vegetable peeler 
• Colander 
• Wooden spoon/spatula 

1. You want to start with the preparations to have everything ready when you need it. Chop the onion as well as the garlic into small pieces. Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. Peel the carrot and use the peeler to draw the strings of the carrot as if you were to continue peeling them. 
2. Heat the water to a boil and throw in your pasta of choice, I prefer spaghetti or fusilli. 
3. Once you have the pasta in the water, start with the sauce. Heat the pan and throw in the chopped onion and garlic, and let them sizzle until they are soft. Add cherry tomatoes and cover the pan with a lid to allow the tomatoes to become soft without too much water disappearing from the sauce. 
4. When the tomatoes are soft, use your wooden spoon or spatula to gently squish the tomatoes out of their skin and stir the sauce. Add the carrot slices and stir. Replace the lid and let sit for another couple of minutes. 
5. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and if you fancy other spices, throw them in. This recipe is made to be changed and adapted to individual taste buds. 
6. Drain the pasta.
7. Turn off the heat for the sauce and add the rocket and mix it until it becomes soft. 
8. Dress the sauce on top of your pasta and add some parmesan or vegan alternative to make it pretty, even if you are eating alone, you deserve to eat pretty food – it makes the experience so much better.