This is good on its own, but also makes a great addition to the tomato options above. An even simpler option is plain white sauce (cheese sauce without the cheese).Дrain some sliced olives and toss them with the pasta.There are recipes for homemade ones here and here.

The heat and water will cook the spinach just a little, but thatвЂ™s enough.

Before you drain the pasta, put fresh, washed spinach - a bag of spinach salad will be perfect - in the colander.

If you have small tomatoes, such as cherry or grape, cut them in half and toss them with the pasta, as above.(Of course, if you have those, you can make your own tomato sauce simply by draining them and purГ©e them in the food processor, heating and adding spices, maybe adding some of the drained off juice to thin it if needed.) If theyвЂ™re seasoned, thatвЂ™s all you need to do if not, add at least some salt and pepper. Toss pasta with canned diced tomatoes just after itвЂ™s cooked.There are plenty of other ways to serve pasta, and good things to do with pastaless sauce. But if you find yourself with pasta and no tomato sauce - or maybe tomato sauce and no pasta - in the house, you donвЂ™t have to choose between making a run to the store or forgetting about it. Pasta and tomato sauce go together so well, we can forget they donвЂ™t always have to go together.

Spice on plain pasta