Homemade Pasta Sauce?

Fittle

First time to visit this thread, so apologies if there's already a recipe for this that I haven't spotted.

I'm looking for a simple recipe for pasta sauce for my son who's ten, and loves pasta. I've never done it before - there are only the two of us living in the house, so I've always thought it was just as economical to buy the shop-bought version, but I'm doing a bit more baking and cooking lately and want to do this.

I've googled it, and there are many variations...so any tips would be appreciated, thanks alot.

ElleEm

I love tomato based sauces, so I would fry garlic, onions and herbs (maybe basil, oregano, parsley) then add any veg I fancy, usually peppers and shredded carrots.
I never buy shop sauces anymore cos they're so full of chemicals, sugar and salt. And it's about e2 a jar. A tin of chopped tomatoes in Lidl is 35c!
You could add cream at the end of cooking too.

Or you could make a cheesy sauce by making a roux (butter, milk and flour in a pot) then adding whatever cheese you like. Yummy with pasta and bacon bits.

Loire

A common one I use with chicken or prawns (and even lobster once) is:

Put the following into a jug:

A Tin of chopped tomatoes (49c Aldi)
Some chopped garlic
Glass of red wine
Dash of vinegar
Teaspoon of sugar

Blitz the lot with a handheld blender for a good 2 mins and then cook in a pot over a low heat for 20 mins or longer if you can. The end result should stick to the pasta rather than being "wet". The wine isn't essential if you don't have it, but it definately adds flavour. Don't worry about the alcohol for your son, that'll be long boiled off.

Experiment and you'll never use a jar again!

Dizzyblonde

For a basic tomato sauce, gently fry some crushed garlic in olive oil. Add a couple of tins of tomatoes, salt and black pepper, 2 teaspoons of sugar (a teaspoon per tin of tomatoes is the general rule), a teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano. Simmer until it darkens and thickens - usually about 20 minutes, then serve with pasta.

Fry some bacon pieces (or chopped up rashers) in the olive oil until browned nicely, then add onions - and mushrooms if you like. Add crushed garlic and stir for a moment, then add the rest of the ingredients as above (leave out the salt). Simmer and serve with pasta. You can add chili to this if you like.

hardCopy

You can also buy cartons of passata in Lidl and Aldi that keep for months, handy to have in the press and no need for a blender.

I like to fry some smoked Panceta (also from Lidl) then I pour passata over the cooked Pancetta and add a few shakes of Paprika, a spoon of Basil Pesto and maybe some Oregano.

Let it thicken up and then mix in some grated cheese. I then throw the cooked and drained pasta in to the pan and toss it all through the sauce.

This also works nicely with beef meatballs.

Fittle

Great ideas there - thanks all! Definitely going to give them a try at the weekend, thanks:D

_blank_

Here's one.

Fry off an onion, chopped small, and a clove of garlic or two in olive oil until the onion is see through and soft.

put in a glug of red wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate.

add about a half litre of stock (veg or beef) and a tin of chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil then turn down the heat, add some oregano and basil and then reduce the sauce to a consistency you like.

I like to add fried mushrooms to this sauce.

Deise Musashi

Any of the ones above, at the frying off onion and garlic stage, throw in some tinned anchovies. They will dissolve and just add a tasty salty tang to the sauce.

Drive people mad making them guess what's in it

LaChatteGitane

Hi,
This is my recipe of my Puttanesca -esque pasta sauce

4 cloves of garlic or more ; roughly chopped
olive oil
1 tin of anchovies ; roughly chopped - save the oil to add to the pan later
1 or more red chilies ; finely chopped
1 tbsp dried oregano
70 gr tomato concentrate
1 tin of 400 gr peeled tomatoes
1 jars of 140 gr capers in brine
1 tbsp dried basil or a bunch of fresh
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tbsp sugar

Pour the olive oil in a cooking pan and add the garlic, glaze on a low heat, stirring regularly. Take care not to burn the garlic.
Stir in the anchovies till they dissolve, before adding the chilies.
Next in the pan is the tomato concentrate and oregano. Let this simmer for a couple of minutes, still stirring.
Squish or squelch (don't know which word to use here) the peeled tomatoes in.
Simmer for a further 15 minutes, then adding the capers, their brine and the basil.
Bring back to a simmer, season with salt and pepper.
I always add sugar to cut through the acidity of the tomatoes.

the-ging

Any pasta sauce I make, I always put a splash of balsamic vinegar in.

westies4ever

home made pesto - basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper - i dont fuss too much over quantities - whizz all in the blender and there you go - delish!!

curly from cork

westies4ever wrote: »

home made pesto - basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper - i dont fuss too much over quantities - whizz all in the blender and there you go - delish!![/Quot

I am having 10 friends over for a casual meet up ,chicken and pasta in the menu. I have bought fresh oregano and basil but see the recipes here all say dried. Am I ok with fresh? Will I have to retrieve it out of the sauce before serving or do I chop it finely? Iwas hoping to do the sauce with the chopped chicken breasts in it as an all in one dish in the slow cooker so I could leave it for the day ? Just starting to prepare now !

westies4ever

curly from cork wrote: »

westies4ever wrote: »

home made pesto - basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper - i dont fuss too much over quantities - whizz all in the blender and there you go - delish!![/Quot

I am having 10 friends over for a casual meet up ,chicken and pasta in the menu. I have bought fresh oregano and basil but see the recipes here all say dried. Am I ok with fresh? Will I have to retrieve it out of the sauce before serving or do I chop it finely? Iwas hoping to do the sauce with the chopped chicken breasts in it as an all in one dish in the slow cooker so I could leave it for the day ? Just starting to prepare now !

I always use fresh - no need to chop etc if you put all in the blender - it'll whizz everything til smooth. you might want to google a receipe for quantities given you're coooking for 10. The way I do it is to put everything bar the olive oil in the blender and blitz, I then gradually add the oil and continue blitzing til I get the consistency I want. I'm not sure about doing it in a slow cooker all day - if it was me, I'd just grill or roast the chicken and warm the prepared pesto in a saucepan. i'd then add the pesto when serving. I'd cook the pasta as normal.

You could also toss the pasta in the pseto and serve the chicken on the side.

Its an easy dish - if you prepare your pesto this morning, you're looking at 30 mins preparation tops this evening. Good luck!

westies4ever

actually curly - check this one out - i use it regularly and its lovely - great for big groups - it might do well in the slow cooker!!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/skilletchicken/r/bl30326k.htm

kylith

I fry some garlic and add a tin or two of chopped tomatoes, fresh ground black pepper, and a good shake of soy sauce (I usually find that the soy is salty enough that I don't have to add any more). Then add too much mixed herbs, well, what looks like too much, it'll be fine. Simmer until thickened, at least 30 minutes.

LaChatteGitane

For something different to a tomato based sauce, you could fry off some lardons, set aside and sautee some spinach (from frozen even) add mascarpone at the end, together with the lardons and seasoning.