Italian Tomato Sauce
This is a very basic ragu-style sauce.
Ingredients
- 450g tin of chopped tomatos
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- some fresh chopped basil or oregano (or both)
- salt and pepper to taste
- some olive oil
Method
Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they start to become transparent. Then add the tomato, herbs, salt an pepper. Leave to simmer for a few minutes. Serve with pasta.
Penne Gorgonzola
This recipe is very quick and easy... and very tasty!
Ingredients
- 450g tin of chopped tomatos
- 100g gorgonzola
- 150g - 200g penne or other pasta
Method
Put the tomatos in a blender and liquify. Heat over a medium flame. Cook the penne, following the instructions on the packaging. Chop the gorgonzola into 1/2 inch cubes. Drain the pasta. Put the pasta and gorgonzola in bowls. Pour over the hot sauce. Garnish with a leaf of basil and some cracked black pepper.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Yes, I know Spag Bol isn't actually Italian, but it is Italian-style. The sauce doesn't just have to be served with spaghetti - any other pasta will do, as would chips, baguettes, garlic bread or jacket potato.
Ingredients
- 450g tin of chopped tomatos
- 500g of lean minced beef, frozen
- 4 rashers of bacon (preferably smoked)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 to 4 mushrooms, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 glass of red wine
- 3 to 4 tablespoons of mushroom ketchup
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of dried chopped basil
- 1 teaspoon of dried chopped oregano
- a little beef gravy powder or cornflour
- salt and pepper to taste
- some olive oil
- 150g dried spaghetti
- 10 black olives, sliced (optional)
Method
Grill the bacon until it starts to crisp. Then leave to cool. Once cool, chop as finely as possible.
Fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they start to become transparent. Then add the minced beef. Cook the beef, stirring occasionally, until it has browned. Now add the tomatos, wine, herbs, chopped bacon, mushrooms mushroom ketchup and olives.
Thicken up your bolognese sauce with gravy powder. When the sauce looks thick and rich, taste it and add salt, pepper and more olive oil as required. The sauce should now be left to simmer for at least one hour.
Cook the spaghetti, as per the instructions on the packaging. Once cooked, thoroughly drain the spaghetti and place in plates or shallow bowls. Pour sauce over the pasta and garnish with generous amounts of parmesan cheese and a sprig of oregano or basil.
Spaghetti Carbonara
Traditionally, Carbonara sauce includes raw egg, but that of course carries with it a risk of salmonela infection. My recipe instead uses white sauce as a substitute. And, although I say "traditionally", this meal is only a recent invention — it was served up to British and American forces stationed in Italy in the war as a combination of the traditional Italian (the pasta) and a reminder of their home cuisine (bacon and eggs)!
Ingredients
- 4 rashers of bacon (preferably smoked)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried chopped basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried chopped oregano
- 150g dried spaghetti
- 200 mL milk
- 30g butter
- 50g cheddar, grated
- a little flour
- pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise (optional)
Method
Grill the bacon until it starts to crisp. Then leave to cool. Once cool, chop into 1 cm wide strips.
Heat roughly 30g butter in a small saucepan. Add nearly all the milk (retaining about 50 mL) and bring almost to the boil. Mix the remaining cold milk with a little flour to form a smooth paste. Stir this paste into the hot milk. Stir in the cheese and mayonnaise. The sauce should now be fairly thick - if not, add more flour, sieving it and stirring continuously to avoid lumps in the sauce.
Fry the onions and garlic in the remaining butter until they start to become transparent. Put the fried onions, chopped bacon, basil, oregano and pepper into the white sauce and stir well.
Now prepare the spaghetti according to the instructions found on its packaging. Make sure you keep stirring the sauce occasionally.
Put the spaghetti into serving bowls and pour sauce over. Garnish with parmesan cheese and a sprig of fresh basil or oregano. If hungry, serve with garlic bread.