Best Pasta Sauce?

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fillup

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
5
Hi, I just joined and tried looking for a pasta sauce but there were too many different types to choose from. What is the best normal pasta sauce to make that has some flavor to it. Thanks in advance!.

-Phil-
 
Welcome to DC! As for pasta sauces, you've got a lot of types to choose from--white sauce, red sauce, cheese sauce, oil, meat, seafood, veg. Can you narrow down what you're in search of?
 
Wow. You are asking a LOT. Just cruise through the pasta section and see what tickles your fancy. Try a Search for Bolognese, or marinara, Sunday Gravy, puttanesca or something like that. There are literally hundreds of variations on this site alone.

Easiest thing to do is to start with some sauteed onions, a little garlic, and then add a can of crushed tomatoes. From there, you can add spices, wine and meat if you like.

 
well I have little knowladge about cooking being that im only 17 and have had my mom cook for me forever but ill try to search around.
 
Saute some onions and ground pork or ground hamburger in olive oil with some fresh garlic or dried, fresh or dried basil, oregano, and parsley, salt and pepper. Once done pour in some tomato sauce and tomato paste and some red wine - let cook on a very low simmer for about 30 minutes.

Instead of the tomato sauce you can use a can of tomato paste and a can of whole tomatoes that you then squish into pieces - pour the juice from those tomatoes in the pan too.

If you like mushrooms you can saute those with the onions before you add the pork or hamburger.

OR go buy Hunt's Traditional - it really is good! :chef:
 
I rarely make a plain red sauce; maybe someone else can help you there. I do make a bolognese sauce fairly often, though it may be more time consuming than you want. Here is the basic recipe:

Ingredients:

olive oil
1" thick round (about 4" diameter) pancetta--large dice (bacon can be used)
3-6 cloves garlic, minced (depending on how you like it)
1 small to medium onion, med. dice
1 carrot, small dice
1 hot pepper, small dice (habanero, Scotch bonnet, or, for a milder taste, jalapeno) (optional)
1 lb. meatloaf mix or ground chuck
1/2 C cream and 1/2 C chix broth, or 1 C milk
1 C wine (use med-sweet white wine for a sweeter sauce, med-dry red wine for a more savory sauce.)
1-28 oz can diced tomato w/juice
1 small can tomato paste

Method:

In a large saute pan, heat a small amount of olive oil and saute pancetta until soft; add onion and carrot and saute until slightly tender; add garlic and pepper and continue to saute until fragrant. Add meat and cook, breaking up the large pieces, until no longer red/pink. Add cream/broth or milk and simmer until there is no appearance of white from the dairy; about 20 minutes. Add wine and simmer 10-15 mins. more, until liquid appears to have evaporated. Add diced tomatoes/juice and gently simmer for another 1/2 to 3/4 hr. Sauce should now be somewhat thick. Add tomato paste and simmer 5 more mins. If you want any fresh herbs, add finely chopped with tom. paste. S&P to taste. Add sauce to warm al dente tube-type pasta like rigatoni, mix well and let sit covered for a few minutes. Grate or shave cheese on plated pasta and enjoy!
 
Try this simple sauce:

TOMATO MUSHROOM SAUCE

Ingredients:
125gm fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped or canned tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsps olive oil
2 tbsps dry red wine
1 tsp fresh basil or 1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Method:
In a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic. Add tomatoes, wine, basil, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes stirring frequently.

Spoon sauce over hot cooked pasta and sprinkle with a little Parmesan or Feta cheese.
 
Welcome to the world of cooking fillup. There are indeed a lot of pasta sauces, and I could not shoose one, but well done for making yourself familiar with the kitchen! I make a simple after work tomato sauce that takes only minutes, I use small pastas, so it takes only as long as the small pasta takes to cook, I have two rings of the hob, to pots to wash, and its relatively healthy, and might suit you till you get more adventurous:

couple of coarsely chopped cloves or garlic, a little olive oil and half an onion to half soften on the hob, then a few coarsely chopped fresh tomatos to soften and heat through. I add to this an assortment of the following depending on what is in the fridge/ cupboards and what I fancy: capers, olives, anchovies, chili flakes, basil, oregano. I do it all on a highish heat, but the onion stays on the al dente side of cooked, and it tastes fresh and clean and healthy and warm rather than rich and deep. Its not what I make when I have more time but it hits the spot when I want quick and easy. I think this is the perfect fast, easy food.
 
goboenomo said:
I like the simple mix of tomato and alfredo sauce.

I agree. Combining these two sauces at about a 2 parts tomato sauce to 1 part alfredo sauce produces a very tasty sauce. I also like to add sun-dried tomatos and a few small shakes of red pepper flakes for some heat. Creamy, tomato-y, spicy... what a great combination!
 
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