What do you put in your tomato sauce for pasta? I've been on a bit of a kick lately trying to perfect it, here's what I've got (serves 1):
>1 tin chopped tomatoes (crushed up a bit smaller with fork) >Half an onion, diced >3-4 mini sweet peppers, diced >Handful of mushrooms, diced >3 medium sized garlic cloves, diced >200g bacon lardons >2 teaspoons italian herb mix >4 teaspoons brown sugar >1 teaspoon chilli flakes >1 teaspoon fine ground black pepper >Glass of red wine (a good one you're going to drink with the meal - definitely not "cooking wine", especially if you're American) >1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
Reduced down for at least an hour on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook your favourite pasta with a tablespoon of salt and teaspoon of olive oil, drain and stir through the sauce. Finally, stir in some parmesan to taste, then a small handful of basil leaves torn up and stirred in.
Am I missing anything important? And /iti/ - Pasta Sauce General, I guess.
>The number of ingredients = the size of the serving ???
Once cooked it won't even fill a standard pasta sauce jar.
Samuel Thomas
No fucking need to be a fucking cunt you fucking faggot
John Robinson
Don't cook your pasta with oil, it just makes it harder for the sauce to stick and you end up throwing most of it down the drain. Just stir your pasta after you put it in the boiling water and give it another quick stir every 30 seconds, this way the starch coming out of the pasta doesn't cook together and get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Zachary Jones
I'm monitoring this thread, I went to cook pasta just now and the only sauce I have is plain bland ass tomato sauce.
Adrian Nelson
Also other than that it sounds pretty good, but are you sauteing the aromatics and bacon first? If not you're missing out on a bit of flavor. Also I'd omit the brown sugar and add grated carrot for sweetness and flavor, or just reduce some balsamic vinegar and add that. Personally I don't like peppers in sauce unless it's for something like cacciatore but if you like it then keep adding it.
Logan Cruz
>sugar No. Just no. And use fresh herbs. Mushroom and bacon dont belong in a simple tomato sauce.
Matthew Davis
That definitely makes sense, I gave the oil a try on my second attempt because I timed things badly and the pasta stuck to the pan the first time, but now you mention it it was a lot harder to clean the pan the second time.
I was actually considering carrots instead of sugar earlier but I wasn't sure if it would alter the texture too much even diced, I'll definitely give it a try with grated next time, that sounds perfect. I founded it needed the sugar because of how many spicy things I was doing, but carrots should definitely mean I can reduce it.
And yeah, I do the onions, peppers, mushrooms, bacon, herbs, sugar and chilli first to get it all cooked through and mixed up nicely, then when it's done I add the garlic for about 30 seconds before adding in all the juicy stuff when I'm ready to leave it simmering.
I suppose it is a bit more than a sauce, yeah, I just need a bit of meat with it, and it's not as distracting as you'd think if you give it a good hour of cooking, everything really breaks down lovely and you just have a nice thick sauce at the end. Fresh herbs may be getting a bit artisinal for me, but I'll definitely try it some day just to see what difference it makes.
William Adams
You can grow some fresh herbs in your house. Basil and thyme really need to be fresh, but for a sauce dried oregano is fine. Parsley and Koriander are nice herbs to have fresh as well.
Nolan James
Going to say this. And if you want a "kick", try spices or hot sauces instead of herbs, that is what they are there for.
Lincoln Powell
I don't know that I've ever seen an Italian hot sauce, what would you recommend?
Easton Torres
Anything but Italian. Try Thai sweet Chilli, tobasco, mustard, just experiment and see what you like.
Ayden King
A jar is like eight servings
Dylan King
Grate the carrots
John Moore
Raisins, it's a thing, google raisins pasta sauce or neopolitan Ragu or something like that. I used to try counting calories and it was a good way to up the carbs when the rest of the sauce is all vegetables and doesn't add up to a lot. Never liked pasta too much so I'd just make Ragu or bolognese or what have you and it eat out of the pot.
Luis Lopez
Oh yeah, milk too, bolognese has milk in it I think, if Wikipedia can be counted on. After adding it you have that moment where you think you just ruined a pot of sauce turning it into soup, but let it simmer off a bit and it comes together quite nicely.
Jackson Miller
>italian herb mix
Jacob Diaz
If not sugar then carrots. You need something to kick the acidity down and sugar is a viable option.
You shouldnt use brown sugar though because it has oo much unique flavour and the last thing you want is to make the sauce taste like sugar.
Austin Bennett
Yeah dont do that. Bolognese is just a meat sauce
Joshua White
Start your sauce off with a mirepoix You also want to simmer with chopped basil also in there, and serve with fresh torn up basil
Zachary Thompson
>trying to perfect pasta sauce >adds oil to the pasta
absolutely embarassing.
Isaac Diaz
recipes often say to only 'sweat' onions and not brown. What does browning them do which is bad for sauces?
David Richardson
I used tomato soup to make mine today. I have 3 tomato sauces that I make for pasta. The tomato soup sauce recipe is really more comfort food. Tastes like Chef Boyardee
Jonathan Price
Can you use garlic powder instead of cloves of garlic? Or is that the stupidest post I've ever made?
Benjamin Hall
Tomato sauce is supposed to be tangy though.
Oliver Baker
it's fine if you don't have garlic at hand but fresh is better from my experience
not to be rude but all that seems kinda like overkill, I can see adding stuff from time to time but it feels like a huge mix of things for one tomato sauce
giving it a good amount of time to cook is key from my experience, and it's both great with lentils or meat
John Howard
I do exactly this for basic sauce. I agree OP seems a bit overkill but I won't knock him for wanting to make himself something nice.
With any basic recipe the quality of ingredients is what really shines through. Unless you're true povertymode, spring for fresh herbs because they make all the difference.
Evan Martinez
There's nothing wrong with adding oil to pasta while cooking as long as you pour boiling water over the pasta when you drain it, which you should be anyway to remove any excess starch.
Austin Brown
A GOOD redwine, sardines and bacon
Matthew Peterson
canned tomatos olive oil garlic salt pepper touch of brown sugar basil
i use a lot of basil when cooking the sauce but dont leave any in. i throw a handful in then let it cook down for a few minutes, then remove that for the next handful etc. gives the sauce a nice fresh taste
Josiah Wilson
teaspoons brown sugar christ
Thomas Ross
I thought I was the only one that put bacon in my sauce, everyone I talk to looks at me funny as they use generic off brand store sauce with shitty hamburger
