Everyone loves pasta without exception - both adults and children. But sometimes you want to diversify and complement the dish with meat sauce or sauce, which Italians consider an integral part of any pasta. How to cook a delicious pasta sauce so that homemade fingers lick?
Pick your recipe
A huge number of sauces: tomato, with slices of vegetables and herbs (napoletana), hot tomato with pepper (arrabiata), with minced meat, wine and herbs (bolognese), with onions and pork melted fat (normal). From creamy - this is an incomparable sauce with spinach and mascarpone cheese and, of course, carbonara - creamy sauce with cheese and bacon. Do not forget about mushroom or garlic sauce, which will add a tantalizing flavor to the paste. The choice depends on personal preferences, but it is better to cook the gravy before serving and serve hot, so that a fat film does not have time to form on the surface. The best oil for making is olive, but if it was not at hand, any other - vegetable or sunflower - will do.
It is believed that the consistency of sauces depends on the thickness of the pasta. If these are thin spaghetti, then the gravy should be liquid, and for thick products prepare thick meat sauces with greens and pieces of stewed or fresh vegetables.
How to make tomato sauce
You can use both fresh tomatoes and canned ones.
- Tomatoes - 3-4 pcs;
- 1 medium onion;
- Butter - 1 tsp;
- Tomato paste - 3 tbsp;
- Garlic - 3 cloves;
- Meat or chicken broth - 250g;
- Spices, salt to taste.
Melt the butter in a thick-walled saucepan, finely chop the onion, garlic cloves, add to the butter and simmer for 3-4 minutes over low heat. Then put the pulp of tomatoes - remove the skin from fresh ones (for this, the fruits are scalded with boiling water), do not forget to put the tomato paste. Stir the bubbling mass, pour in spices. After about five minutes pour the broth, simmer over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring constantly. 3 minutes before readiness, you can add bay leaf, peppercorns.
Minced sauce
You will need:
- Minced chicken or beef - 500 g;
- Bell pepper - 1-2 pcs;
- Onion head - 1 pc;
- Tomatoes - 1 kg;
- Garlic - 3 cloves;
- Seasoning to taste, salt;
- Oil - 1 tsp
Fry the minced meat until golden brown, add chopped garlic and onions, pepper, chopped into strips. Stew for 5 minutes, then report tomatoes, spices, herbs. Stew on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring the sauce with a wooden spatula.
Bolognese
Take 200 g of fresh carrots, grate on a fine grater, add one medium onion to the carrots. Sauté the vegetables until golden brown. Fry ground beef or pork (250 g) so that there are no lumps, mix with tomato paste - 3 tbsp. and pulp of tomatoes (3 pcs) without skin. After 5-10 minutes, pour 150 g of red wine into the mass, and simmer another 15 minutes. Do not forget to add spices and herbs to taste.
Chicken Breast and Cheese
You will need:
- Any hard cheese - 150 g;
- Chicken fillet - 250 g;
- Garlic cloves - 4-5 pieces;
- Spices, herbs to taste;
- Cream or sour cream - 150 ml.
Chopped garlic in a small cube and fry in a pan. Separately, pour cream into a small saucepan, bring to a boil, add shabby cheese and stew until the cheese has melted. Dice the fillet, mix with garlic, spices, herbs, fry for 10 minutes and mix with cream.
Vegetable Gravy
The recipe is ideal for people who do not favor meat. Take 3 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 3-4 slices of zucchini, 1 large carrot, Bulgarian pepper 1 pc and one medium onion. Rinse the vegetables thoroughly, remove the peel. Chop the eggplant in a small cube, mix with salt, and set aside for 10 minutes. Dice all the other vegetables, heat the oil in a pan. First, fry the carrots with onions, then the remaining vegetables, stew for 20-30 minutes. Can be diluted with chicken stock, but wait for the mass to thicken.