A bowl of pasta dressed with bright tomato and basil sauce, ready in less than half an hour. Rao's sauce is already built on garlic and onion, so you just simmer it gently with pasta and finish with butter and cheese to round out the flavour. Comfort in a weeknight bite.

Serves 2. 25 minutes, 8 at the stove.

About 660 calories a serving, 23 g protein, 91 g carbohydrate, 22 g fat. From USDA figures for 83% of the ingredients; amounts are the recipe's.

You need 1 jar [24 oz] tomato basil sauce, tomato basil (Rao's Homemade), 8 oz pasta, for pasta water salt, 2 tbsp butter, 1 clove garlic, 2 oz [55g] Parmigiano-Reggiano.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and drop in 8 oz pasta. Stir once and cook until just shy of tender, about 1 minute before the package time says done, then drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water.10 min
2. While the pasta cooks, pour the jar of sauce into a broad skillet and warm over low heat, mashing 1 clove garlic into it. Let it bubble gently.8 min
3. Tip the drained pasta into the sauce and toss, adding 2 tbsp butter and a splash of pasta water until the sauce coats each strand and moves like lava. The starch in the water binds everything together.
4. Grate 2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano over two bowls, divide the pasta between them, and serve at once.

Cook mode

Note Swap the Parmigiano for Pecorino Romano if you want more bite. Leftovers keep three days cold or reheated gently with a splash of water. Serve with a simple green salad and a wedge of bread to finish the bowl.