Simple everyday pasta sauces

[SpaghettiWestern]

I eat pasta every day for lunch or dinner. And every day.... I cook from scratch. some days I JUST want to eat the pasta and dont want to go into all the peeling and chopping. I dont mind doing a little of it but some days I just want my pasta not to be the big production it turns out to be. I love anchovies and olives ... the sauce usually has alot of that in it.

but.... how to streamline my prep time and still have a great condimento for my pasta.

I would love some suggestons please..... I am open to anything.

thanks

[Beebs]

I like this one when I'm feeling lazy and the tomatoes are particularly nice. You don't even need a knife (unless you want to!).

-Take a couple of ripe Roma tomatoes. Grate them coarsely on a box grater into a bowl. No need to peel the tomatoes, but I usually toss out the big chunk of skin left over at the end of grating.

-Grate, crush, or mince some garlic, toss that in the bowl.

-EVOO, salt, pepper. Toss those in the bowl.

-Rip up some basil with your hands. Toss in the bowl.

-Dump your drained pasta in the bowl, mix it up, add grated parm, and more EVOO and/or a bit of pasta water if it's too dry.

That's it! No cooking necessary (except for the pasta), because the hot pasta warms up the sauce.

[SpaghettiWestern]

I like this one when I'm feeling lazy and the tomatoes are particularly nice. You don't even need a knife (unless you want to!).

-Take a couple of ripe Roma tomatoes. Grate them coarsely on a box grater into a bowl. No need to peel the tomatoes, but I usually toss out the big chunk of skin left over at the end of grating.

-Grate, crush, or mince some garlic, toss that in the bowl.

-EVOO, salt, pepper. Toss those in the bowl.

-Rip up some basil with your hands. Toss in the bowl.

-Dump your drained pasta in the bowl, mix it up, add grated parm, and more EVOO and/or a bit of pasta water if it's too dry.

That's it! No cooking necessary (except for the pasta), because the hot pasta warms up the sauce.

You know? I have seen that one before and wondered about it. I just cant imagine how it would be not cooking the sauce. I love to cut up those baby roma tomatoes.... never peel them ... just quater them and throw them in the saute pan. i will definitely give this a try. love anything with a tomato sauce... fresh or otherwise.

tomatoes make a great base for a quick sauce.

thanks for posting this.

[Blether]

Don't you use a freezer and small keeper boxes ? Microwaves defrost one-portion sizes; 2 or 3 portions will keep in the fridge after defrosting. And are you seriously eating pasta that often and not paying a tithe to Marcella Hazan ?! I'll pass her 'North Italian white sauce' on to you here - just butter and grated parmesan, added in alternate lots (about three batches) and tossed each time. Mmm.

[nickrey]

If you don't want to go to any trouble, use already prepared pesto or tapenades. Simply cook pasta, drain and toss sauce through. The heat of the pasta will warm the already cooked product.

That said, you don't need to spend a lot of time on very nice tomato based pasta sauces. Chop some garlic and onion, put into a cold saucepan with oil, bring up to heat and cook until transparent. Toss in a can of crushed tomatoes, including juice. Add your extra bits (eg. pitted olives, anchovies, tinned salmon, capers or whatever takes your fancy). Cook at medium heat stirring occasionally until tomato thickens; think bubbling mud pools to get some idea of how it will look. Finish with salt, sugar, and vinegar to balance flavor. Throw in some basil leaves or a prepared pesto and that's it (serve with grated parmesan). If you are quick at chopping, it really shouldn't take much longer than it takes to cook the pasta. Think dinner in twenty minutes, most of which is things bubbling by themselves on the stove top.

In place of canned tomatoes, you can use a prepared passata which is just sieved uncooked tomatoes. You will still need to cook to get bring out the sweetness.

Additionally, if you want an easy, tasty pasta. Cook the pasta and drain. Toss through some very finely chopped or crushed garlic, butter, and grated parmesan. Again, the raw garlic will cook in the pasta.

[jk1002]

I follow pretty much the procedure that was demoed in the No Reservations episode. Rather then takingbfresh tomatoes i use canned.

I am a firm believer that good quality canned is better then out os season fresh.

I chop the canned tomatoes, heat em up and concentrate the liquid a bit, i typically do not use all liquid from the can. On the side, I infuse olive oil with basil and garlic and crushed chili flakes

I discqrd the basil/garlic and mix the oil into the tomatoes.

I cook the pasta until nearly done, finish cooking in sthe tomato sauce. Season with a little salt and more chili flakes and finish with a little butter.

Its important not to cook the tomatoes too long, to use a decent amount of olive oil so that one clearly tastes it in the sauce and also not let the oil get too hot.

If executed right, which i admitedly don't always, its a divine dish.

Another one that i do since college is simple fried garlic with olive oil and crushed chili pepper. This can be jacked up with asparagus or artixhokes or shrimp etc.

Fried mushrooms finished with portwine and cream zcan also be very good.

[qrn]

I cook a whole pound of pasta at once and use whatever, for the meal, then take the rest, and put it in serving size portions and freeze it in flat plastic bags. then thaw in hot tap water,,and drain, and either serve it that way with sauce or put it in a frying pan with butter or evoo , and whatever...I do it that way to save time,as I am at high altitude and it takes much longer to cook the pasta...

Bud

[Corinna]

I also recommend the fresh tomato sauce, as described above. Go easy on the garlic, since it will not get cooked. If you have time to let the sauce sit for a couple hours before serving, even better. It's a wonderful treat when tomatoes are in season!

[Pierogi]

I also recommend the fresh tomato sauce, as described above. Go easy on the garlic, since it will not get cooked. If you have time to let the sauce sit for a couple hours before serving, even better. It's a wonderful treat when tomatoes are in season!

I also do this frequently, and for an unusual twist to it, replace the basil with chopped cilantro, and the parmesan with smallish chunks of mozzarella. Toss in 1/2 to 1 (plus) minced jalapeno (depends on how spicy you like your food). Maybe a little mild vinegar (white wine or rice wine) if your tomatoes aren't acid-y enough. Make sure to let it sit for about 1/2 an hour at room temp. Don't let it sit too much longer than that, or the cilantro gets icky.

Toss in the hot pasta, adjust seasoning with S&P to taste. Really good....

[SpaghettiWestern]

Hey thanks everyone for your suggestions.

and Blether ! .....of course I use a freezer and small keeper boxes. LOL I have a few in there with meat sauces that i spent alot of time making. but I dont like to eat that every day. i like fresh veg. based sauces and bring out the meat sauces about once a week. AND no..... I am not paying attention to Marcella Hazen. LOL

I dont have alot of time to read cook books... in fact I only have a few. mostly from my travels to exotic places...none of them have any pasta recipies in them.

Being Italian....most of what I have learned is from my family......but i havent been around them enough to really learn as much as I should. I havent gotten anything out of cookbooks. maybe i should.

I always use garlic, anchovies, olives as a base for most of my daily sauces. and when I have had time to shop.... watercress or any bitter green makes a good plate of pasta as well.

but I always cook from scratch...... everyday.

I guess I could streamline my prep by making a quanity of good tomato sauce and then adding what i want to it as the pasta is boiling. seems that even if I do that..... in a few days ... its gone again and i have to start another big pot. LOL

There are days when i have pasta for more than one meal.

Thats kind of the way it was in my Scilian family. Its not a meal for my father if we didnt have a pasta and bread on the table.

And Bud.... I am at 6200ft and my water takes a little longer to boil but i start it alot earlier than when i want to eat. LOL altitude never keeps me from doing anything.

Anyway..... thanks again everyone. you have had some good suggestions here

[Aloha Steve]

but I always cook from scratch...... everyday.

Care to share your recipe for the dough you use to make the pasta ?

Do you always make the same shape ?

[SpaghettiWestern]

but I always cook from scratch...... everyday.

Care to share your recipe for the dough you use to make the pasta ?

Do you always make the same shape ?

Aloha Steve ..... I am smiling now. I cant share with you my dough recipe because I dont go that far to make fresh dough everyday. I use only Setaro or Rustichella pasta.... in all shapes and sizes. Usually everyday... a different shape. LOL.... depending on whether the sauce is chunky or not.

I leave the fresh dough to my mother.... who DOES make it nearly every day.

[cfm]

My favourite lunchtime pasta is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittinstall's River Cottage Cookbook. I like it because it is simple and the chopping is of the very easiest and least messy sort - slicing courgettes. You slice courgettes, and fry them with a little garlic and salt over a low heat so that they kind of disintegrate and mush down. Then you stir in a little cream and plenty parmesan. That's it. I have marked the recipe "sweet, good" and made it regularly since. I noticed recently that in The Minimalist Cooks at Home, Mark Bittman has a recipe which he describes as a sort of courgette carbonara. I can't remember exaclty how he proceeds, but as I am interested at the moment in getting plenty food inside me, I thought that next time it could be worth adding an egg to the scheme for extra nourishment.

Catherine

[Beebs]

Almost forgot about spaghetti carbonara - so simple, fast, and comforting. And not a lot of prep or cooking involved either!

I particularly like Nigella Lawson's version of carbonara. Her recipe calls for a glug of white vermouth or white wine added to the bacon/pancetta, simmered down till it's syrupy, add pasta. Then mix it all together with egg, parm, s&p, chopped parsley.

I am seriously contemplating spaghetti carbonara for dinner tonight.

[SpaghettiWestern]

WOW.... LOVE those 2 carbonara suggestions alot. I wasnt thinking about that for some reason.... but sounds really good.

Today for lunch I stumbled on something that came out great. Yesterday I saw Mario Batali's vodka sauce on sale so I bought a jar to try out. well.... I put a few tablspoons in a pan while the pasta was boiling and I remembered that I had sauteed some mustard greens with anchovy a few days ago and it was in the back of the fridge.

I added it to the pan with the vodka sauce and WOW! it was SOOO fabulous ! something about the way the sauce played off the spicy mustard greens. That was indeed a happy accident. I am going to make that one again.

Mario's sauce is AMAZING. Hs anyone else discovered other veggies that go well with vodka sauce?

Now i think i am on a mission to find out what else i can add when to that sauce.

Thanks again for those 2 carbonara suggestions.

[rockhopper]

Almost forgot about spaghetti carbonara - so simple, fast, and comforting. And not a lot of prep or cooking involved either!

I particularly like Nigella Lawson's version of carbonara. Her recipe calls for a glug of white vermouth or white wine added to the bacon/pancetta, simmered down till it's syrupy, add pasta. Then mix it all together with egg, parm, s&p, chopped parsley.

Too much. The original is fine by itself with a few simple ingredients. celebchefs are motivated to make things "their own".

Boil water for the spaghetti.

While it is coming to temp sautee with olive oil

option 1) diced salt pork. this is the "original."

option 2) a diced slice of bacon without "smoke" flavor. this is easiest in the US.

option 3) guanciale or pancetta. You are solidly in foodier-than-thou territory now.

Drain the spaghetti and place into a warmed bowl. Add a raw egg, the pork, fresh ground black pepper q.b., and pecorino.

[cinghiale]

Add a raw egg

You'd get serious push-back from Italians on that one. Having yet to accomplish an acceptable carbonara at home, I often ask friends (old, young, male, female), "So, how do YOU make carbonara?" Without variation, the egg part is always "one egg per person, plus one egg yolk." When I try to match that up with pasta amounts, I'm always met with blank stares. "For my son, I have to make 500 g!" And whadup with the extra egg yolk? Like omitting that's gonna torpedo the dish with 6 eggs already in it? Edited May 11, 2010 by cinghiale (log)

[bainesy]

A simplified sugo all'amatriciana: instead of guanciale (I have never found that in the UK), fry pancetta or bacon strips in a reasonable amount of olive oil until coloured, add v finely sliced or chopped onion and some chilli flakes, cook down then add tinned tomatoes. Season and cook down again until sauce consistency achieved. Serve with spaghetti/linguine/fettucine and plenty of parmigiano.

[pedie]

My favorite fast pasta is Spaghetti with Tuna. While the pasta is cooking, I saute garlic with red pepper flakes in olive oil until golden, add a can of tuna in olive oil and break it up with a wooden spoon. Once it is heated through, I add a ladle of so of the pasta water to make it saucy...then add the al dente spaghetti to finish cooking in the tuna sauce. throw in some fresh chopped parsley and it is wonderful. I like it with grated cheese...even if you are not supposed to have cheese with fish sauce.

Edited June 12, 2010 by pedie (log)

[Jaymes]

I do the can of tuna thing, too. Try to get canned tuna imported from Italy.

But for simplicity itself, toss hot pasta with some butter. Salt & pepper and eat.

[rlibkind]

Don't forget just butter and parm. That's as quick and easy as it gets. If you want to be sophisticated, add fresh ground black pepper.

[Scarpetta]

Since you like anchovies and olives, how about a puttanesca sauce? You simmer a little olive oil with a minced garlic clove and a couple of anchovy fillets over low heat. As soon as they melt add some chili flakes, tomato sauce (yes, it's a good idea to have a batch of it ready) then a small handful of capers and pitted black olives.

Simmer the sauce for a couple of minutes then add the cooked pasta (whatever kind you prefer) give it a good stir and serve sprinkling some chopped parsley and a whoosh of good olive oil on top of it. No cheese, but if you must then use pecorino romano.

[SobaAddict70]

Thinly sliced onion, slowly cooked in olive oil for a half hour or more so that it transforms into a rich, golden brown, seasoned with a little salt, pepper and maybe a splash of vinegar to cut the richness. Add a little anchovy and maybe some chopped parsley. That's one sauce I never get tired of. The onions eventually mellow into a supple, luscious sweetness that almost begs to be accompanied by a bowl of pasta.

The same trick works with cabbage too. I sometimes begin with some pancetta or guanciale cooked in olive oil, then proceed from there.

[janeer]

Surprised no one's mentioned heavy cream. Just heavy cream, salt, and pepper. And if you have the strength to sauté a sliced mushroom or red pepper first, all the better. Parm on top.

[gfweb]

Surprised no one's mentioned heavy cream. Just heavy cream, salt, and pepper. And if you have the strength to sauté a sliced mushroom or red pepper first, all the better. Parm on top.

with sauteed garlic and parm