Mangia Bene Pasta
Special Pasta Sauce Recipes
The best way to add sauce to pasta:
DO NOT drain your pasta into a colander and rinse it with cold water. About a minute or two before the pasta is cooked to al dente,
remove it from the cooking water with tongs (for string pasta) or a strainer or skimmer (for shaped pasta) and add it directly to the
cooked sauce still in the saucepan. Cook for the pasta the additional time in the sauce. This allows the pasta to absorb more of the
flavor of the sauce than if you simply pour the sauce over it in a serving bowl. With this method you also have the reserved starchy
pasta water than can be added to the sauce if it appears too thick. Also stir in any fresh herbs at this point to blend them into the
sauce. Now you are ready to transfer the pasta to a serving bowl and top with freshly grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese. Mangia!
Delicate Pink Sauce
This sauce is very good with cheese and seafood ravioli.
2 cups heavy cream
2 level tablespoons tomato paste
Heat the cream but do not bring it to a boil. Add the tomato paste.
Stir to dissolve and blend well. Serve with pasta.
Gorgonzola Sauce
Try this sauce over cheese over cheese tortellini or potato gnocchi.
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons heavy cream
4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley or chives, chopped
Sauté onion in butter. Add flour, combine well, and heat 1 minute.
Add remaining ingredients. Stir until smooth.
Add cooked pasta and stir in parsley or chives. Serve.
Carbonara Sauce
Serve with a ribbon pasta like fettuccine.
1/2 cup prosciutto (lean bacon or ham can be substituted)
3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Sauté prosciutto and garlic in a pan until slightly crisp.
Drain fat and discard the garlic.
Add cream to the pan, stir to combine. Remove from heat.
In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and cheese.
Slowly add the cream mixture to the eggs and cheese.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook just long enough to heat through.
Add cooked pasta and serve.
Sicilian Tomato Sauce
This sauce is best with string type pastas.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
1 (28 ounce) can pureed tomatoes
Sauté the garlic, onion, and carrot in oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.
Add cooked pasta and serve.
Puttanesca Sauce
This sauce is best with string type pastas.
1/4 cup olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, pureed in food processor
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/3 cup black olives, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 ounces anchovies, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Sauté onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in oil 2-3 minutes.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, olives, capers, and oregano.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, with lid ajar for 20 minutes.
Add anchovies and parsley. Add cooked pasta and serve.
Low-Fat Carbonara Sauce
This sauce is good served over spinach fettuccineand topped with
sautéed ham cubes and peas.
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup 1% milk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2-3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Sauté onion in butter 1-2 minutes.
Add flour and combine well. Cook 1-2 minutes.
Add milk, cream, cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
Heat until slightly thickened.
Stir in cooked pasta and serve.
Lentil Tomato Sauce
This sauce is excellent with whole-wheat spaghetti or penne
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (28 ounce) can peeled whole tomatoes, mashed
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup brown lentils
Salt, pepper, and sugar to taste
Heat oil and sauté carrots, onions, and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, and lentils. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes,
adding water if sauce gets too thick. Season to taste.
Add cooked pasta and serve.
Fresh Tomato-Pepper Sauce
This sauce is good with a shaped pasta, such as farfalle or orrecchiette.
1 cup fresh plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Add cooked pasta and serve.
Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce
Serve this sauce with tagliatelle or large shaped pasta like rigatoni.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 large carrot, minced
1 large celery stalk, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 heaping tablespoons fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 2 cups of warm water until soft
1/4 cup red wine
16 ounces tomato sauce
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
Pepper to taste
1 cup Boca crumbles (or other meat substitute)
1/2 cup heavy cream (soy milk can be substituted)
Heat oil and sauté onions 15-20 minutes until brown. Add carrots and celery, cook 10
minutes.
Add garlic, parsley, and thyme, cook 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms from soaking liquid
and chop.
Reserve water. Add mushrooms to vegetable mixture. Add red wine.
Reduce heat to low, stir in tomato paste, mushroom water, bouillon cube, bay leaf, and
pepper.
Cover pot and simmer 1 hour. Remove bay leaf.
Add Boca crumbles and heat through. Stir in cream, add cooked pasta, and serve.
Vodka Sauce
This sauce is good with a ribbon type pasta or a shaped pasta like penne or farfalle.
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, minced
3 ounces chopped prosciutto or ham
Pinch red pepper flakes
1 (16 ounce) can tomato puree
1/2 cup vodka
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add garlic and onion and sauté 2-3 minutes.
Add prosciutto, red pepper flakes, and tomato puree. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add vodka, simmer 5 minutes.
Add cream and Parmesan cheese, simmer until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta, stir well, and serve.