Top pasta sauce

[Wadeski]

this is my favourite pasta sauce, its from a few different recipes combined, but its delicious.

It doesnt make a lot of sauce like a tomato or carbonara sauce would, because the flavour is quite intens. Its more of a coating for a small bowl of spagetti...so its good as a starter, or a small meal.

you need (serves two):

1 chalotte / 1/2 small onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
a small packet of pancetta
a tin of anchovies
2 tsp tomato paste
a small glass of white wine
single cream, to taste
parsley, or other fresh italian herbs you have
a lemon
chilli flakes
olive oil

start by softening the onion and garlic in olive oil for a minute - dont let it burn.

add 4 anchovy fillets, keep the heat down, and let the anchovies "melt" or dissolve. after a couple of minutes, if you give them a stir they should pretty much disappear.

turn the heat up a little and fry the pancetta, tomato and chilli, keeping all the ingredients moving. season with pepper.

Once the pancetta is cooked, add the white wine and cook off the alcohol. Toss with the herbs.

final steps:

turn off the heat, and stir through the cream, tasting as you go - i probably use no more than two tablespoons.

mix the sauce in with drained spagetti, and squeeze over lemon....

the sauce comes out quite salty so it works well with simple pasta, a salad, and a cold white wine

[Flawed]

Sounds great. I reckon it would work well some big pasta like Conchiglioni.

[staceyb]

Slightly ot but does anyone know any pasta sauces that doesn't have cheese or tomato in them. I've tried lots of both (don't like cheese or tomato by themselves anyway) and I usually end up with plain pasta or if I'm at home I bdise it with some chicken and sweet and sour sauce.

Any suggestions welcome.

[Mrs Fish]

creme fraiche and pesto

[Romanymagic]

staceyb said:

Slightly ot but does anyone know any pasta sauces that doesn't have cheese or tomato in them. I've tried lots of both (don't like cheese or tomato by themselves anyway) and I usually end up with plain pasta or if I'm at home I bdise it with some chicken and sweet and sour sauce.

Any suggestions welcome.

Basic Carbonara recipe, lacks the cheese and tomato and is of course a very trad. pasta recipe:

Ingredients
½ onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
4 slices bacon, chopped
150ml/5fl oz double cream
2 eggs
handful basil, chopped

Method
1. Soften the onions in a pan with the oil for two minutes.
2. Add the garlic and bacon and fry for another 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the cream to the pan and then the eggs.

Be careful not to overcook once the eggs have been added as they will start to become "omelette", the idea really being to quckly cook the eggs so not raw. I found it is often easier to cook the pasta, add the cream to the sauce as per pt 3 above and then mix the pasta and sauce together, then put the eggs in and allow the heat of the pan, sauce and pasta to heat the eggs through.

[staceyb]

cheers me dears. Most of the carbonara recipes I've came across have cheese in them, but I will try that one.

[Wadeski]

not really any tomato in my one - and tbh you can leave it out if you like. only two teaspoons after all

[TIGA84]

Mrs Fish said:

creme fraiche and pesto

pesto has cheese in it.........

[biglepton]

staceyb said:

cheers me dears. Most of the carbonara recipes I've came across have cheese in them, but I will try that one.

American Carbonara uses cream in the recipe, Italian Carbonara just uses the eggs (preferably just yolks, no white) with no cream and guanciale works better than pancetta if you can get it. It was invented in WW2 when US troops stationed in Italy had lots of bacon and eggs with them so the locals invented a pasta sauce to use those ingredients. When served it should be sprinkled with freshly grated nutmeg, not pepper or parmesan.

[Anna_S]

Mrs Fish said:

creme fraiche and pesto

goats cheese and pesto

[scruffy]

TIGA84 said:

Mrs Fish said:

creme fraiche and pesto

pesto has cheese in it.........

You've not been on the planet long, have you?

Make it with whatever...

basil, rucola/rocket, spinach, cashews, cider vinegar, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, garlic, salt, black pepper, strawberries (...yup!), roasted red peppers, almonds, capers, anchovy, olives, artichoke, roasted aubergine, corriander, pecan nuts etc etc... Oh, Truffles and Chilli!

here's one i made up just now,

Extra virgin Olive Oil, peas, parsley, mint, capers and lemon juice - NO CHEESE.

(or buy it - there's a top one in fresh and wild - foergot what it's called but it's about a fiver a jar...)

Oh and there's a product called Nomato..., for that comedy touch...

[jonamacg83]

Anna_S said:

Mrs Fish said:

creme fraiche and pesto

goats cheese and pesto

Goats cheese has cheese in it.....

[scruffy]

There...

I remembered!

deli and delights said:

Made from an original Ligurian basil, the tender top leaves are washed, chopped and preserved in olive oil within hours of being hand picked. Olive oil, cashew nuts, fresh basil from Liguria, sea salt, pine nuts, garlic.

[Rude Girl]

I do a range of pasta sauces for quick suppers, they're all a variation on the same theme:

Fry off basic ingredients (suggestions below), add big dollop of creme fraiche and serve.

bacon, mushrooms, garlic, drop of white wine

leeks, lemon juice, thyme, shredded cooked chicken

bacon, shredded cooked chicken, frozen peas

bit of smoked salmon, shredded herbs

frozen mixed seafood, asparagus, lemon juice

I expect you've got the gist now, but it's basically whatever is in the cupboard plus creme fraiche and black pepper.

[navier_stokes]

Can't beat fresh home made, PROPER pesto.

- Grill a few teaspoons of pinenuts until they're warmed through
- Bash up some salt and garlic in pestle and mortar
- Bash in the pinenuts
- Grind in a plantful of basil
- Mash in some top quality DOP parmesan or pecorino (or both)
- Add a little or a lot of extra virgin to get your final consistancy

Serve simply with linguine, mmmmm