Cook up gourmet pasta sauces at home for easy meals
When I was a kid one of my favorite books was
”
More Spaghetti, I Say!
”
by Rita Golden Gelman. It’s about a monkey named Minnie who eats
lots and lots of spaghetti and ignores her friend who wants to
play. I used to read it over and over as a kid. The illustrations
showed mountains of spaghetti and meatballs. I have to admit that
while I might not go back for third or fourth or fifth servings
like Minnie, it’s always been hard to resist a second serving of
spaghetti.
Cook up gourmet pasta sauces at home for easy meals
When I was a kid one of my favorite books was “More Spaghetti, I Say!” by Rita Golden Gelman. It’s about a monkey named Minnie who eats lots and lots of spaghetti and ignores her friend who wants to play. I used to read it over and over as a kid. The illustrations showed mountains of spaghetti and meatballs. I have to admit that while I might not go back for third or fourth or fifth servings like Minnie, it’s always been hard to resist a second serving of spaghetti.
I grew up eating spaghetti regularly and when I was young, my mom would cook up some quick pasta and toss it with a jar of sauce from the grocery store. We’d sprinkle Kraft parmesan cheese on top.
On weeks when we are more adventurous now, we will sometimes make an Alfredo sauce (see www.pinnaclenews.com/Life for recipe) from scratch or prepare a puttanesca sauce packed with fresh ingredients.
But on busy weeks, we often still go with a jar of Prego that we doctor up with fresh mushrooms and garlic, Italian seasoning, and sometimes sauteed onions. The thing with a basic jar of spaghetti sauce is that it can be enhanced quickly with just a few additions.
Here are two recipes that will turn a typical spaghetti night into something a little gourmet without too much extra work than boiling up a pot of water. With the puttanesca sauce, the pepper flakes offer up a little extra punch as do the capers. And with the pancetta pasta, we used a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from a local winery and tossed in a few diced tomatoes to make it a little heartier.
Spaghetti with puttanesca sauce
¼ c. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves, garlic minced
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 – 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, pureed in a food processor
1 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/3 c. black olives, chopped
1 tbsp. capers
½ tsp. oregano
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Spaghetti prepared according to package
Saute onion, garlic and red pepper in olive oil for two to three minutes
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, olives, capers and oregano. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer with lid ajar for 20 minutes.
Add parsley and removes from heat. Makes enough sauce for one pound of pasta.
Pancetta pasta
Recipe courtesy of “Something Extra”
½ lb. lean ground beef
8 strips pancetta, coarsely chopped
½ c. chopped onion
1 – 22 oz. jar pasta sauce
1/3 c. red wine
1 lb. pasta prepared according to package
Shredded parmesan cheese
Brown beef, pancetta and onion in a medium sauce pan, breaking up large chunks of beef with the back of a wooden spoon.
Cook for five minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently. Add sauce and wine to the pot. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Serve over hot pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Makes four servings.
