CHOOSING SAUCES FOR PASTA
The variety and variety of sauces that can be served with pasta seems endless. They range from minimalist sauces, like garlic and olive oil, to light vegetable sauces, seafood sauces, robust meat sauces, and rich, creamy sauces containing eggs, cheese, and nuts.
When choosing the right pasta shape for a sauce, there are no hard and fast rules. Some regional dishes are always prepared with the same form of pasta, such as fettuccine all’alfredo, tagliatelle bolognese, and penne all’arrabbiata, and it is rare to see them served with anything other than the aforementioned pasta. However, these classic dishes are few and far between, and with the ever-increasing number of different pasta shapes on the market, it can sometimes be difficult to know which shapes and which sauces will go well together.
Long, thin pasta is best served with a thin, sticky sauce or one that is smooth and thick. If it’s too thin and watery, the sauce will simply run off the long strands; if it’s too thick or heavy, it will fall to the bottom of the bowl, leaving the pasta on top. Sticky sauces made with olive oil, butter, cream, eggs, finely grated cheese and chopped fresh herbs go well with long pasta. When ingredients such as vegetables, fish, and meat are added to a thick, smooth sauce, they should be chopped very finely.
Short pasta shapes with wide openings, like conchiglie, penne, and rigatoni, will catch meaty or spicy sauces, as will spirals and curls. Egg pasta has different properties than plain pasta and goes especially well with the rich creamy meaty sauces that are popular in northern Italy. Fresh homemade egg pasta soaks up the butter and cream and makes the sauce stick to it. Almost any pasta is suitable for the classic Italian tomato sauce.
BOLOGNESE SAUCE
Ingredients:
1 small onion
1 small carrot
1 stalk of celery
bunch of parsley
½ pound ground beef
1 small can of tomato paste
½ cup of red wine (optional)
olive oil
salt and pepper
beef or chicken broth (optional)
Addresses:
Chop all the vegetables (keep the parsley) very fine and sauté them in the olive oil until translucent. Add ground beef. Stir well and cook for about five minutes or until meat separates and browns. Add tomato paste and mix well until all ingredients are coated. Add wine (optional) and salt and pepper.
Cook for a few more minutes, then add about a cup of water (or broth). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, until reduced.
Note: Add a little more liquid if you think it’s too dry.
SUGO
for 4 people
Ingredients
1 cup (250 ml) extra virgin olive oil
320 g beef or oxtail, without fat
400 g beef steak casserole, in pieces
500 g pork ribs, in four pieces
1 onion, cut in half
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 carrot, cut in half crosswise
1 celery stick, cut in half crosswise
700 g passata (Val Verde Passata cooking sauce)
425g can of crushed tomato
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 cup (250 ml) white wine
5 sprigs fresh continental parsley, plus extra for serving
1 teaspoon of sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
method
Heat half the oil in a large saucepan. In batches, cook meat until lightly browned. Remove from skillet.
Add remaining oil, onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Cook until golden and soft. Return meat to saucepan.
Add the pasta, tomatoes, broth, wine, parsley, and sugar. Spice with salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 1 1/2 hours over medium-low heat. Remove large pieces of meat or vegetables. Stir through the cooked pasta. Serve covered with parsley.