Classic Tomato Sauce Pasta Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make tomato sauce and pasta better? ›

Use a Roux or a Slurry

A roux and a slurry are similar in that both are adding a starch to the sauce, and if not added carefully, can produce a lumpy sauce. How they are added to the tomato sauce is important and care and stirring is key.

Add fresh herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, bay leaf), and let them simmer to give a punch of fresh flavor.

Similar to creamy sauces like Alfredo, or meaty sauces like ragu, tomato sauce is naturally low in fat, and as a result, sometimes becomes too thick and too starchy when it's been tossed with pasta. The addition of butter helps to loosen and emulsify the sauce, making it smooth and creamy.

Though you could use any tomato, Roma and other paste tomatoes — with meaty texture with little to no seeds — are said to develop the best flavor when cooked down into a delicious sauce.

Egg yolks are the ideal addition to pasta sauces, salad dressings and custards that need thickening. The protein in egg yolks thicken when heated and they also add a richness to sauces. You'll need to be careful when adding egg yolks to hot sauces because they can scramble the sauce.

The longer you let homemade spaghetti sauce simmer, the thicker it will get. I've let sauce simmer on the stove for up to seven hours before, and it's turned out nice, thick, and delicious every single time.

So long as you're not gluten-free, flour is an excellent option that you'll likely always have on hand. Not only can you use it to thicken sauces, but it makes an excellent thickener for gravies and soups as well. When added to liquid, the starches in the flour expand, helping to thicken whatever you add it to.

Approximately three dashes or ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg is plenty for a jar of tomato sauce. If you are making a large batch, add a bit more for good measure. While the flavor should be subtle, you still want it to make the other ingredients shine, so feel free to play around with the quantity until you get it just right.

For best flavor, use certified San Marzano tomatoes. Add Parmesan cheese into the sauce while cooking. Use no salt added tomatoes. Use ground beef to cut down on sodium content.

What is the secret to perfectly sauced pasta? ›

Once the pasta is in the sauce, add pasta water. This is the most vital step in the process. Starchy pasta water doesn't just help thin the sauce to the right consistency; it also helps it cling to the pasta better and emulsify with the fat and cheese you're going to be adding.

- Start by sautéing garlic, onions, or shallots in olive oil before adding the tomato sauce. This adds depth and aroma. - Add dried or fresh herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, or rosemary for a burst of flavor. Experiment with a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat.

Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options. Dried herbs and spices should be added at the beginning of the cook time so that they have time to bloom.

Red wine will give it a restaurant taste

But a quick and easy way to do so is to add a glug of red wine. Red wine is a standard addition to many pasta sauces, and while it's not strictly necessary in a marinara sauce, it can give it instant depth.

A jarred sauce can sometimes lean a bit acidic, so the way to balance that is with richness. A glug of a good quality extra virgin olive oil, a splash of cream or half and half, a dollop of ricotta or mascarpone, or even a few pats of butter stirred in can smooth those rough edges.

First, in authentic Italian cuisine, the sauce is always tossed with the pasta before it ever hits the plate. Just before the sauce is done cooking, the hot pasta is added to the saucepan. Generally speaking, we recommend cooking the pasta in the sauce together for about 1-2 minutes.

The water you cook pasta in should be as salty as the Mediterranean sea – add about 2 teaspoons of fine grain sea salt per litre (33 ounces) of water. That way your pasta has some flavour before you add the sauce – so you need to work less hard to make everything taste amazing.