How can I up my pasta game? I made the sauce from scratch and I feel like I have a solid concept of the basics...

How can I up my pasta game? I made the sauce from scratch and I feel like I have a solid concept of the basics, where do I go from here? Pic related, I made this today.

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theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/18/sausage-tomato-pepper-sauce-pasta-recipe-rachel-roddy
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You can stop making your pasta sideways, for one.

Depends I guess, how'd you do your sauce?

this. I would seriously consider horizontal surfaces.

Sautéed onions and minced garlic in olive oil, added two cans crushed San marzano tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste, a touch of cayenne pepper for heat, and fresh chopped basil and oregano. I had leftover lemon pepper chicken so I added that to the pasta after the sauce was done.

Better?

My experience has been that the best pasta sauces are usually pretty simple, just made using quality ingredients. Getting too fussy about pasta sauce (and using a lot of ingredients) rarely improves things, imo.

You have the basics, try adding one of these:
Red wine, black olives, ricotta, vegetables like celery and carrot, bone marrow, chili flakes etc.

They all bring out nice flavours for pasta.

You can try adding meatballs or sausage to the sauce as it's cooking/simmering and have it be a meat sauce. Also if you plan on making sauce often, I recommend growing your own tomatoes and using a food mill at least once to see how it turns out. If that's too much work using certain whole canned varieties is good enough.

Good marinara sauce isn't complicated though, just takes time and effort.

is that fucking chicken in there?

*barfs*

For an impressive enough for a guarantee lay date night, up your game by making your own tagliatelle from scratch. Blows there ass away.

I'll pick up some red wine during my next grocery trip. Would I shred the carrot or just chop it into chunks and fish it out at the end? I don't want it to get too sweet.
I wanted to try this but I need a new kitchen scale to measure out the right proportions of flours. I saw Gennaro contaldo's video on making it so I think I'll give this a try.

Try dropping the oregano, put in a bay leaf (remove it at the end), add a glug of alcohol (wine or vodka), and replacing the cayenne with red pepper flakes or a fresh chili.

Try things like only briefly cooking the garlic before adding the tomatoes or even just giving it a quick crush and dropping in after you've already started cooking the sauce.

Play around and see what you like best.

Also don't be afraid to refrigerate for a day or two two and reheating which can result in a tangier taste.

And if you ever feel up to it, buying seasonal tomatoes to crush yourself is worth it. An in season tomato can give you a completely different sauce.

What's wrong with chicken?

Use only half a carrot and chop it finely if you are worried about adding too much sweetness.
Grated will give a bad texture if you don't simmer the sauce enough time.

Also, I'm with the guy who suggested adding sausage.

Look up a recipe for puttanesca.

I've been looking around to try and find the anchovies but I can't seem to find them. What all places should I check to get them?

Any supermarket should have them. Look where the canned meats are.

it must be pretty sturdy to keep the pasta from sliding out the bowl

They should be in a little can near the other canned fish (tuna, salmon, sardines, etc) in the supermarket.

Secret ingredient is glue

Either check out some delicatessens or you can probably get cheap ones in a large grocery chain. They are kept in a really obscure place for some reason. In my local quality foods for example they where in the middle of cheese section with a couple other obscure refrigerated items that didn't have a home.

hello young friend
did you ask your mom before posting here?

I suspect there may be another anchovy shortage at the moment. The last 4 stores I've visited were out of the jars, and only had either paste or store brands in oil and capers.

>I've been looking around to try and find the anchovies but I can't seem to find them. What all places should I check to get them?

If you are going to use anchovies a tiny speck at a time in recipes, such in a salad dressing or to enhance a sauce, I suggest the tube kind of anchovies, sometimes in the grocery next to the tomato paste in the tube. And, that is sometimes near the pasta sauces, near the canned tomatoes, near the pasta itself, or near the canned meats. Depends on your grocery, or they might not even have it. It's worth seeking out even if you get it online. Anchovies are like chipotles. You buy a can that you open and use 5% of the can for a recipe, so have to freeze or throw out. Keeps in fridge once opened. I recommend the tomato paste in a tube, but none of the rest.

This one looks way better than your first attempt. What ever you did to improve it I would continue.

This first attempt looks gross and weird

>either paste or store brands in oil and capers.

Either of those would work fine. I use the paste myself. like mentioned the paste is nice because you can easily use a little bit then cap the tube for later.

Your pasta and sauce pairing needs work. Noodles should not be paired with a sauce that contains large pieces of food. You should be able to eat the noodles and sauce by just twirling the noodles around your fork, without having to skewer pieces of meat with the fork. For a sauce like that you'd want something more like farfalle. Flat noodles like in your pic pair best with a sauce with the consistency of ragu bolognese, i.e. essentially a thick puree.

Tell that to spaghetti and meatballs

or chicken alfredo or shrimp alfredo

shrimp scampi

But traditionally you'd eat the pasta first, then the meatballs along with whatever vegetables you were having with the meal.

Those are Olive Garden tier dishes, neither Italian nor really Italian American.

SO then why would you assume op is eating the chicken with the pasta and not the pasta first then chicken with his side salad when it's the same exact thing as having meatballs in there? Leave aside the fact that I've never seen anyone do it that way as you say but let's go with that and wonder why you would think it would be any different?

Our pasta God, everyone! The rater of the world! The know everything kraft dinner microwaver whose opinion matters above all others! THE JUDGE OF THE WORLD! Our God! Kevin!

In a formal setting the pasta is served first, then the secondi (which is the meat dish) is the next course. Less formal places may roll the two together. If I go to Joe's of Ave U and get spaghetti and meatballs the pasta will be on one plate, and the meatballs will be in a dish on the side. But when you see chunks of meat served in the pasta sauce along with the pasta you're not dealing with anything Italian anymore - you're doing the American "balanced meal all on one plate" thing. Which is fine if that's how you like to eat. I'm just pointing out there's not much Italian about serving things that way.

anchovy paste, grated carrot, and milk

my name's alan

So is mine. How awkward.

cheese

How about now?

I think you used way too much sauce OP. So i'd say, moderation.

great advice imo

You spent the money on San Marzano tomatoes and want to up your game, so here's a tip: move away from the American family restaurant pasta dishes and try some Italian ones.

What are some of your suggestions

This third attempt needs some work also. Just keep doing what ever you did in the second attempt it looks a lot more edible and healthy

I for one do not see the appeal in Italian-Australian fusion cuisine.

I like really simple pasta dishes because I usually have it as a first course. It's summer where I live, so a simple sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and finished with a lot of fresh basil when tossed with the pasta is a favorite. Earlier when asparagus was in season I'd boil it with the pasta, then put it in a blender with olive oil and a little pasta water, then use that as a pasta sauce.

If you're looking for more impressive one plate style meals there's always red or white clam sauce, both of which are easy to make and delicious. Also in the seafood vein you can do a mixed seafood red sauce with white wine. That's impressive and delicious. (Be sure to boil the shells of shrimp to add flavopr to the sauce).

Another favorite is a simple red sauce with white beans and lots of fresh sage. Or chickpeas and rosemary. Either would go great with orechette. Bucatini in a red sauce built around panchetta and onion is another classic.

Those are all pretty quick sauces, ut they make great pasta dishes.

OP, I don't know who this "use fresh" tomatoes guy is, or why he's mocking you to not use canned San Marzanos or any other brand. It's asinine and untrue. Canned tomatoes picked at ripeness and well canned > fresh. They will take less time simmer and get reduced and rich for one thing.

Just be careful not to buy brands that show sugar on the label. They had to tone down the unripe tartness with sugar and that only gets more sugary in your final product. If you have to use them, be prepared to hit your sauce with a little lemon or splash of wine vinegar.

Why you're mocked for putting in your lemon pepper chicken you wanted to use up is also mind-numbingly stupid. Whatever. Your goal wasn't to make parmiagiana today.

Now, you made a decent marinara, is what I'd call it. It's a little saucy in your pasta to sauce ratio there, if you ask me, but that's also fine, your preference, but in a restaurant you might offend someone like me as making it less than ideal, and yet offend another for being cheap. A meat flavored sauce is nice, why someone suggesting the meatball simmering, or bolognese.

That's it. You did well. Good job.

If you wish to experiment with different pasta sauces, I'd say look for aglio y "sand" one of the rare favorites of my own. Toast your breadcrumbs in olive oil, sliced garlic, homemade, as your topping for aglio e olio. Quick easy pasta dish. I got it from the Frugal Gourmet years ago. Cacio pepe, another simple one, this time using your reserved pasta water technique. Move from there to carbonara if you find some good italian deli, and then maybe the original alfredo recipe. Fresh sauces are awesome when you do have tomatoes and basil. I love olives in pasta, labor of love to pit them all. Move on to making your own pastas. Seriously, just go watch some old Mario Batali's, he would make pasta in 30 minutes from scratch, usually the bowl method. Lidia Bastianich has some great tutorials on the whole table menus.

>Mario Batali
That's a good suggestion. I learned my first real Italian cooking from his Molto Mario show back in the day. He had some great regional recipes and walked you through how to make them pretty concisely.

I don't think they were saying "don't use canned san marzanos", I think they were saying "you went to the trouble of using san marzanos, so use a better rescipe"

theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/18/sausage-tomato-pepper-sauce-pasta-recipe-rachel-roddy

This looks like shit in the article but turns out great and is really straight forward.