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Dressed-up Bowties With Fancy Alfredo

Alfredo sauce to the rescue

For years, we have doctored up jars of marinara sauce to make quick pasta dinners, adding an array of ingredients depending on our mood and what's on hand. Now, we're branching out.

We recently noticed that sitting alongside the red sauce, Alfredo pasta sauce is quietly coming into its own. Flavors like sun-dried tomato and roasted garlic looked intriguing, and we wondered how they might expand our quick-pasta repertoire.

The answer is: exponentially.

Just about anything you can add to red pasta sauce also can be used for Alfredo. It's as easy as tossing ingredients in (or leaving them out). This means dinner can be delicious and different at the stir of a spoon.

For Dressed-up Bowties With Fancy Alfredo, we started with a simple base sauce that's wonderful on its own. Then, we have made suggestions for vegetable and protein stir-ins that can be added alone or in combination, depending on personal taste and what's available.

Feel free to experiment and add to our list. Let us know how it turns out.

Serve Dressed-up Bowties With Fancy Alfredo with a simple tossed salad and baguette slices.

Dressed-up Bowties With Fancy Alfredo

Makes 6 servings ,/p>

• 12 ounces bowtie pasta or other short pasta
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large onion (for about 1 cup chopped)
• 1 cup diced ripe Roma tomato or grape-tomato halves
• 2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
• 1/4 cup white wine or water
• 1 jar (16 ounces) Alfredo sauce with sun-dried tomato (see note)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

OPTIONAL STIR-INS

• 3/4 cup vegetable of choice, such as defrosted frozen green peas or corn; steamed broccoli florets; pitted ripe olives; canned artichoke hearts
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup protein of choice, such as diced ham or bacon bits; flaked tuna or smoked salmon; cooked diced chicken or turkey; cooked shrimp or scallops; firm bite-size tofu chunks

Bring 2 1/2 quarts of unsalted water to a boil in a covered 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven or soup pot. When the water reaches a rapid boil, add the pasta, and cook until just tender, according to the package directions, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Peel and chop the onion, adding it to the skillet as you cut. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the onion begins to get tender, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, core the tomato, dice it and set aside. (Or for grape tomatoes, cut them in half.) Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the wine and stir and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the Alfredo sauce to the skillet, using a rubber spatula to get all remaining sauce out of the jar.

If using a vegetable, microwave if necessary to bring it to room temperature. Add the tomato, seasoning and optional vegetable of choice, and stir and cook for 1 minute. The optional protein of choice may be added now, or wait and top individual servings. (If protein is cold, microwave as necessary to warm.)

When the pasta is done, drain it into a colander, shaking to remove as much water as possible. Add the pasta to the skillet with the sauce, and stir and toss gently until the pasta is covered with sauce.

Serve at once.

Note: For testing purposes, we used the Classico brand. You can substitute any brand or other flavors, such as roasted garlic. If you can find only plain Alfredo sauce, stir in 2 tablespoons of chopped sun-dried tomatoes (soaked first in hot water if not packed in oil). If you prefer reduced-fat plain Alfredo sauce, it works, too.

Start to finish: 20 minutes

Per serving (without optional stir-ins): 352 calories (27 percent from fat), 10 g fat (5 g saturated), 44 mg cholesterol, 11 g protein, 51 g carbohydrates, 4 g dietary fiber, 546 mg sodium.

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