Feeling Saucy

I've made cheese, I've made pasta, I've made meatballs, but without a good sauce they just don't come together well. I have no idea if the Italians categorize their sauces or not, but I do. I think of pasta sauces as falling into three types. The first type is tomato based, the second is cream based and the third is stock/wine based.

I make several sauces and enjoy each of them for what they bring. Some are quick and easy and other takes all day or at least hours to make. Some are healthy and others are; well, not healthy.

In my humble opinion, if you're going to cook at home, you need to have several pasta sauces in your repertoire. Even the best recipe can get old if you go to it too often. I know not everyone believes that and there is something to be said for the tradition involved with having the same meal every Sunday night or something like that. If you're talking about Grandma feeding 20 plus people with a sauce that took all day to reduce down to perfection, it really is hard to argue with that. I'm talking about the day to day consumption with your immediate family. The more variety the better, but good variety, not just something different for the same of something different.

The first sauce to learn is a basic red sauce, or a close relative a basic meat sauce. These are what most Americans would consider the most traditional of Italian pasta sauces. Much like my commentary on meatballs, these recipes tend to be handed down through families and closely guarded by their artists. I have my own take on a red sauce, but don't actually make it very often. I'll include it below.

The next sauce to learn is something you can make "on the fly" or at least in under an hour. Pomodoro is a basic fresh tomato sauce. I'll also include the recipe below for my version of it. I really love a fresh sauce with fresh pasta, they just seem to marry well for me. What I mean by a fresh sauce is simply a sauce that has no components from a can. You can use fresh or dried herbs depending on availability, but fresh herbs make a huge difference in a sauce that does not cook long.

The third sauce to learn would be another staple of the Italian kitchen, bolognese sauce. Bolognese sauce is a long cook meat based sauce that has onion, celery and carrots in it. This is a tomato and cream sauce which also has wine, but in my versions of categories I consider it a tomato based sauce if that veggie or some version of it makes an appearance. I make huge vats of bolognese sauce at a time. This sauce holds up well to portioning off and freezing; which I do with regularity.

After you have these three sauces down it is time to start really exploring sauces that you normally only get in restaurants. Several of them are not at all difficult to make, but because they don't make good leftovers or they're wickedly unhealthy they don't get much play. My recommendation for your top sauces to learn are as follows, roughly in order:

1. Basic Red Sauce (with or without meat)
2. Pomodoro and/or Marinara
3. Bolognese
4. Alfredo (butter and cheese)
5. Carbonara (bacon and egg)
6. Bechamel (great starter for cheese sauces)
7. Pesto
8. Primavera

As promised, I'll include my recipe for the first two and I'll explore the next six with their own blog as I make them again. 

Basic Red Sauce:

Two large tomato sauce cans

1 Tbl Dried Oregano

1 Tbl Dried Basil

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced pushed through the garlic press

1 small onion finely chopped

1/4 cup of olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

(For meat sauce add 1 lb. of either ground beef or Italian sausage)

1. Saute the olive oil and onion in the bottom of a large pot until the onion is translucent
2. If making meat sauce, add the meat at this time and cook through before adding the liquid
3. Add the tomato sauce and bring up to a light boil
4. Stir in the herbs and let simmer for 2 to 8 hours stirring occasionally

The color should become a noticeably darker red during the simmering

Pomodoro sauce:

1 tomato per person, diced

1 leaf of fresh basil per person, finely chopped

1/4 small yellow onion per person, diced (or a shallot, but I mostly use onion)

1/2 clove of garlic per person, finely chopped

1/8 cup of olive oil per person

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil and saute the onion until translucent (about 5 minutes)
2. Add the garlic and continue sauteing for about another minute
3. Add the diced tomato and basil
4. For Pomodoro, allow to saute for a minute or two, just until the tomato is heated through
5. For Marinara allow the sauce to cook for about 10 minutes until the tomato starts to break down but still clearly has chunks
6. Add the wet pasta directly to the sauce and serve once the pasta water has evaporated