Impress the Ladies: Basic Pasta Sauce

Hello everybody, my name’s Chris, and Donnie has so kindly allowed me to join the fun on the blog.  I worked in the restaurant business for almost ten years, over three of which were in Mangia in the center of Orchard Park.  I’m looking forward to adding to the atmosphere here, and I’m going to try to post some cooking tips as well.  I’m excited about the possibilities of this blog, and think it could be exactly what Buffalonians are looking for.

Which brings us to this first entry of a series I like to call “Impress the Ladies.”  For those of you dudes (and even gals) who are completely incompetent in the kitchen, this series will ease you in nice and slowly.  Over time, I will pull out some heavy hitters, but we’ll start with one of the most basic bachelor foods:  PASTA!

No, I’m not talking about taking a box of spaghetti and a can of Ragu out and going to work.  I’m talking about making sauce from scratch and expanding from there.  This lesson will start with a basic pasta with red sauce, and then move on to other tips and ways you can perfect the dish.

So let’s get started after the jump…

What you’ll need:

-2 32oz. cans of Crushed Tomatoes (or tomato puree)

-a couple little cans of Tomato Paste

-an Onion

-Olive Oil

-Minced garlic (you can get it in a jar, or dice it fresh if you’re ambitious)

-Sugar

-Spices (start with some basil and/or oregano, dried is fine)

-There are other optional ingredients, read below to find out and go for it once you get a bit more experience

So first, get a nice big pot.  Add enough oil in the bottom to coat, and then some (you’ll notice from my recipes I rarely specify amounts, experimenting is half the fun).  Get that sucker in high heat and add half a diced onion and a generous amount of garlic, 2 tbsp at least, but more if you like garlic like me.  Pretty soon you’ll get a nice sizzle going.  If you have some red wine on hand, go ahead and pour a good portion (maybe half a cup) in there and watch it steam away.  This will give you some much needed flavor.  Next you’re going to add the tomatoes.

This is where you have a choice.  All canned tomatoes come in different consistencies.  I prefer to use the Wegmans Italian Classic Crushed Tomatoes.  They have good flavor and already have spices added in, a huge bonus.  Other crushed tomatoes aren’t really crushed, per se, but more liquefied.  You’ll just have to experiment to find the consistency you like.  If you’re using my recommendation and going with Wegmans brand, toss them in and keep the heat on high.  Keep stirring, and once you see it start to bubble, stick your finger in there and snag a taste.  Sure, it will taste mostly like tomato, but this is where you’re learning how to cook.  Not enough garlic?  Add a pinch, it can’t hurt.

Next, add in the spices.  If you have the pre-spiced tomatoes, you should be okay here, but depending in your taste you may want to add some anyway.  Throw some sugar in there too, at least 1/4 cup, but more if you like it nice and sweet.  Add some salt an pepper to taste as well.  Stir everything together and taste it again.  Most of the flavors aren’t going to be coming out yet, but you’ll get an idea.  Now turn the heat down until the sause is still bubbling, but not quite boiling, and go grab a glass of that wine that you conveniently left next to the pot earlier.  Wait about a half hour and come back.

Give the sauce a good stir.  How’s the consistency?  You know what pasta sauce is supposed to look like, so this shouldn’t be too hard.  Is it too watery?  Grab a can of that tomato paste and stir it in.  Also check the flavor again, adjust as needed.  If you get a little crazy you can add a bit of lemon juice or hot sauce (preferably Frank’s) to kick it up a bit.  Now you have a decision to make.  How much time do you have until dinner?  If you’re strapped for time, turn it down to a simmer and let it go for at least another half hour.  If you have more time, here’s my suggestion:

Let it simmer for another hour.  Grab some bread and more wine and enjoy yourself for the time being.  After an hour, if possible, add some meat.  Buy some cheap sausage links at the store, or even some pre-made meatballs (you could make your own, but we won’t go crazy for the first lesson).  Throw the meat in there, it should cook in about an hour or a little less.  (We’ve been looking at about 3 total hours cooking time so far).  By the time you come back, that sauce should smell and taste unbelievable thanks to the flavor of that meat (I prefer sausage).

So get your pasta going now.  Any type will do, I prefer penne or rigatoni when dealing with a chunkier sauce, with spaghetti it doesn’t coat as well.  Now you better know how to cook pasta, or I’m assuming you didn’t read this far.  Throw some salt in the boiling water and drop it in.  IGNORE THE TIME ON THE BOX.  Use it only as a guide.  You should taste the pasta as it cooks.  Take it out when it still has a bit of resistance or bite to it (we call this “al dente” my friends) and strain.

Depending on how much sauce you made, you can either throw the pasta right in the pot with it, or just use it to coat the top.  If your sauce is still too watery, you didn’t let it cook long enough or high enough.  The goal is to get the water from the tomatoes to evaporate.  Add some more paste if you’re freaking out about it.

Take that sausage out that I told you to make and slice it up to put on top.  Parmesan cheese is always a good thing, but if you want to go crazy, throw on some shredded mozzarella and stick the plate under the broiler in your oven (yes, this is all that Chef’s Spaghetti Parm is, so people, stop saying it’s so amazing when you can make it every night).

If you’ve made it this far and the result is somewhat presentable, congratulations!  You may have royally screwed up and come to find it wasn’t exactly what you expected, though.  If this is the case, like I said, you need to reevaluate your simmering time and temperature.  Don’t worry, you’ll learn.  However, if you’re feeling pretty damn good about your future chef aspirations, here are some ADVANCED TIPS to enhance the dish:

-Right before you’re ready to serve the sauce, throw in some frozen peas.  This will enhance the color of the dish as well as make a nice complement to the sausage.  For the same effect, use some sliced and quartered red onion right at the end, which has a much more pleasant flavor than white, and can be eaten almost raw and still enjoyed.

-If you’re getting real crazy, and happen to have a food processor, blend up some carrots and celery with the white onion before you start.  Blend until you get a mush, and toss this in right with the first step with the oil and garlic.  Stir it in along the way while the sauce is cooking and you won’t believe the results.  Many authentic Italian sauces use carrots and celery in sauce, as it gives a much more fresh and pleasant taste.  (Psst – this is also one of the secret’s of Mangia’s sauce).

-If you want a Rosa sauce, transfer some of the sauce to a different pot after it’s made and add some heavy cream (or milk) and butter until you have a nice color and consistency.

Well, that’s it for now.  I know this was long, but hopefully it helps, or at least gets you laid.  I’ll be back soon with some more tips.

Think you can do better?  Do you have your own special ways of making sauce?  Well then smart ass, leave a comment!