The Easiest Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Cover of Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

This next entry in my favorite recipes comes from Marcella Hazan‘s excellent cookbook, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. If you love Italian food, this is the only Italian cookbook you need, in my opinion. I have made many of the pasta sauces, and they were all great. Unfortunately, I’ve cut way back on the pasta I’m eating these days.

My husband declared this tomato sauce with onion and butter to be one of the best pasta sauces he’d ever tasted. It is superbly simple to make, even easier than my go-to tomato sauce. This sauce has a light, subtle flavor that tastes best on hearty but bland filled pastas, like potato gnocchi and cheese ravioli, but is also very good on spaghetti.

I suggest using pureed tomatoes, but you can also use canned whole tomatoes and crush them with the back of a spoon while the sauce is cooking. This will result in a “chunkier” tomato sauce, though. Bionaturae is my favorite brand of bottled strained tomatoes.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

• 1 bottle strained tomatoes(24 oz.) or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, pureed
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 1 med. onion, peeled and cut in half
• Salt
• 1½ pounds pasta
• Parmesan cheese

Put the tomato sauce, butter, onion and salt in a saucepan. Cook, uncovered, at a slow but steady simmer for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. Discard the onion before tossing with the pasta. Leftover sauce may be frozen without the onion.

 

Super-Simple Chicken Soup with Vegetables and Pasta

I have been trying to eat more soup recently, and not just because it’s winter. There are so many reasons why soup is a great meal that we should strive to eat every day. Soup is easy to make and adaptable to whatever ingredients are available. It’s easy to get a daily serving of veggies in — just throw them in the soup pot. Also, soup is satisfying and filling, a boon if you are trying to eat less and lose weight (which many of us are after the excess of the holidays).

Chicken soup is a classic that everyone loves. I don’t follow a recipe to make this soup, but rather use the vegetables I already have on hand. With small pasta such as orzo or macaroni and boneless chicken breasts, this soup can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

It’s perfectly okay to use store-bought stock for this soup; I prefer the organic brands, such as Swanson’s or Pacific Natural, which are sold in aseptic containers. However, it is easy to make chicken stock, and it only takes about an hour. Homemade stock tastes much richer than any stock you can buy, so why not make your own?

To make a quick chicken stock, cut up a three- to four-pound chicken and put the pieces in a large pot. Roughly chop 1 large onion, 1 large carrot and 1 celery stalk (don’t bother to peel), and add them to the pot, along with 1 bay leaf and a few whole peppercorns. Pour in 14 cups water. On high heat, bring just to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cook for at least one hour and no more than two hours. Cool slightly and strain out the solids. Reserve the chicken breasts to use in any recipe calling for cooked chicken meat. If you are not making soup right away, refrigerate the stock and use within three days, or freeze it for up to three months.

Now, to make the soup, peel and chop several kinds of vegetables into small pieces. Carrots, celery and onion are classic choices, but use whatever you have available. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high. Saute the vegetables to lightly brown them. Add 1 garlic clove, minced, and saute another minute or two. Add 4 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cut 1 boneless chicken breast into small pieces and add to the pot, or if you made your own stock, shred the cooked breast meat and add that. Also add ¼ cup uncooked orzo, macaroni or other small pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer, covered, until the chicken and pasta are cooked, about 15 minutes.

Whole Wheat Pasta?

We eat pasta at least once a week. In an effort to eat more whole grains, I am searching for a whole-grain pasta that actually tastes good. My problem with these pastas is that they are too grainy or coarse. The only success I have had is with a pasta made from spelt. Anyone have brand suggestions or cooking tips?

Whole-Grain Pastas That Taste Good

They are trading their good-for-you rigor for warm, nutty flavor.

A Few Simple Pasta Sauce Recipes

I have a new challenge post coming up soon (finally). In the meantime, I want to share with you a list of simple recipes for pasta that you can throw together, usually in the time it takes to cook the pasta. Many of these recipes are particularly suitable for this time of year, when you (a) don’t want to spend a lot of time in a hot kitchen, and (b) have access to abundant fresh produce and herbs.

Pasta, Risotto-Style: I like this with orzo but it will work with almost any pasta shape. Saute diced onion in butter over medium-high. Add 1-1/2 cups orzo or other cut pasta. To make a complete meal, you can add other vegetables or pre-cooked meat. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Add 3 cups stock. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir every few minutes until tender, about 15 minutes, adding more stock if needed. Garnish with grated Parmesan and minced herbs.

Quick Vegetable Sauce: Puree cooked vegetables. Thin with cream or stock and heat gently. Top with grated cheese, as appropriate.

Pesto: Puree 2 cups basil or other herbs, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts or other nuts and 1/2 cup Parmesan until smooth.

Raw Tomato Sauce: Chop 1 garlic clove with a handful of basil. Combine with 2-3 diced tomatoes. Toss with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.

Canned Tomato Sauce: Saute 1/2 minced onion or 2 minced garlic cloves in olive oil or butter over medium-low until golden. Add 1 14-ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes, or the equivalent in fresh tomatoes, cored and chopped. Stir in 1 tablespoon tomato paste, if a thicker sauce is desired. Cook about 10 minutes and season with salt and pepper. You can eat it now or simmer up to an hour. This sauce takes well to all kinds of additions so experiment by adding any cooked veggies or meats, pesto or fresh herbs, some soft cheese, a little wine, etc.

This list was first posted on Quora.

Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage

This is one of my favorite weeknight meals. It has many things going for it. It’s fast to make. It’s a one-dish meal. It’s adaptable. And I usually have all the ingredients on hand. It’s also very tasty. Try it tonight.

Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage

Yields: About 4 servings.
Time to make: About 40 minutes.

• Salt to taste
• About 1 pound broccoli, cut into florets
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, or more to taste
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ to ½ pound Italian sausage, sliced or crumbled
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ pound cut pasta
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the broccoli until crisp-tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Scoop the broccoli out of the water and set it aside.

Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and fennel seeds if you’re using them, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue cooking and stirring for another minute or so. Add the broccoli and wine, and cook, mashing and stirring, 2 or 3 minutes more. Turn the heat to low to keep the sauce warm.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water. Drain it, reserving about a cup of the cooking water. Toss the pasta with the broccoli sauce, along with some of the pasta water to keep the mixture from drying out. Serve immediately, with the Parmesan.

Notes: You can easily substitute cauliflower, broccoli rabe or any green for the broccoli. It is nice to add roasted red pepper or sun-dried tomatoes to this when it’s finished cooking. Cubed mozzarella is another good addition. Simplify this recipe even more by eliminating all ingredients after the red pepper flakes and tossing the broccoli mixture with cooked pasta.

Fresh Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Last night, I made an absolutely delicious pasta sauce using fresh roma tomatoes from my garden. Like all quick tomato sauces, this one is just a variant of my super simple tomato sauce recipe, but it was so good that I wanted to give it its own entry.

This sauce celebrates the bright, sweet flavor of summer tomatoes at their peak. The tomatoes are cooked down until they thicken and practically dissolve. Adding a healthy amount of garlic and some bacon cuts the sweetness and builds richness. Finish with a handful of basil for that last summery touch.

Fresh Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Yields: 2 servings
Time to make: ~30 minutes

• 2-3 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 slice bacon, fried and crumbled
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb. roma tomatoes, chopped
• handful basil leaves, sliced
• grated Parmesan
• ½ lb. penne or other cut pasta

Start heating a pot of salted water for the pasta. Heat the oil and garlic over medium until the garlic just starts to color. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the crumbled bacon and tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Let cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes start to break down and thicken. Lower the heat if the tomatoes are cooking too quickly.

When the water boils, cook the pasta. By this time, the sauce should be very thick. If the mixture gets too thick, add a spoonful of pasta cooking water to loosen it up some. When the pasta is ready, drain and mix it with the sauce. Top with the basil and Parmesan to serve.

Pasta with Peas + Fruit Crisp

Spring is here! I can tell because I have so many good, fresh things to eat in my refrigerator. Oh yeah, and all the flowers blooming and stuff.

Here’s a simple spring dish: pasta with peas, bacon and mint. While the pasta is cooking, mince and fry a few slices of bacon until crisp. Turn the heat down, add a cup or so of peas and some chopped mint. Season with salt and pepper. Warm the peas gently and mix with the cooked pasta. Garnish with grated Parmesan or similar cheese. This sauce works very well with a filled pasta like cheese ravioli.

Having a surplus of berries, I made the fruit crisp recipe in Mark Bittman’s Food Matters for dessert. I thought this was a very nice recipe, particularly good mixed with vanilla yogurt (I’m sure ice cream would work just as well). My two-year-old turned up his nose at it, though, even though it contained three different berries. I just can’t get that kid to eat his dessert.

Roasted Asparagus & Almond Pesto

Here’s a neat idea: Make pesto with roasted asparagus in addition to, or instead of, basil or other fresh herbs. Just roast the asparagus at 400 degrees until browned, maybe 20 minutes or so. Chop the stalks, reserving the asparagus tips. Puree the stalks in the food processor with a few tablespoons of olive oil, as much Parmesan as you like, a handful of toasted almonds, salt and pepper. Really nice on pasta garnished with the asparagus tips, some roasted grape tomatoes and a sprinkling of almonds. I also tried the leftover pesto as a spread for a cheese sandwich, and it was pretty tasty.

Here’s what I know about toasting almonds and other nuts. You can either toast them in a dry skillet on the stovetop over medium heat or spread on a cookie sheet in the oven. As long as you watch the nuts and keep stirring them, they will not toast. But the second you turn your back and do something else, that’s when they’ll burn.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Pasta with butter, cream and Parmesan. What could be simpler? (Well, you could omit the cream.)

This is essentially what fettuccine alfredo is, and it’s delicious with just these ingredients plus a little salt and pepper. While the fettuccine is cooking, melt a knob of butter over medium. Add the cooked, drained pasta and the cream — about 1 cup for ½ pound of pasta — and toss until the cream is mostly absorbed. Off the heat, mix in about ¾ cup grated Parmesan until the sauce has thickened and clings to the fettuccine. Season and enjoy.

This dish is delicious with a little broccoli, sauteed with garlic and red pepper flakes and then steamed in a small amount of white wine.

Pasta with Bacon, Spinach and Pine Nuts

I think it’s important to eat as many vegetables as possible, but I don’t especially like making side dishes. Especially on a weeknight, when I want to get dinner on the table fast and not have to wash too many dishes. That’s why I like one-pot meals so much.

Often I’ll look for creative ways to combine a main dish and side dish into one. Last night I was planning to make a very simple pasta dish with bacon, garlic and red pepper flakes, plus a side dish of sauteed spinach and pine nuts. As I was cooking, it occurred to me that I could save myself a pan and some time by sauteing the spinach with the pasta sauce.

This is very fast-cooking dish that can be made in the time it takes to boil the pasta. First saute some minced bacon over medium heat until crisp. Add a little minced garlic and hot pepper flakes, and saute just a minute, until the garlic turns golden. Put in the spinach and stir to coat. Let the spinach wilt, adding a little of the pasta cooking water. Stir in the cooked pasta, adding a little more cooking water if necessary to help the sauce adhere. Sprinkle with a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese and some toasted pine nuts to serve.