Pasta’s so easy to cook, and such good comfort food when it’s cold outside. Unfortunately, the sauces for it typically take hours to simmer. If you’re pressed for time, you could resort to using store bought sauces, some of which are pretty tasty, but none of which are cheap. Another option is to use one of these recipes, which take thirty minutes or less from the first veggie chop to when the sauce is ready to pour.
Traditional tomato sauce (30 minutes)
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 small red pepper, chopped, no seeds
- 6-9 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Dried, chopped basil, marjoram, oregano, nutmeg and/or bay leaf to taste
- 2 large cans of tomato sauce
- Hot pepper sauce
Put a large saucepan over medium heat. Pour in some olive oil, and then add the onion, red pepper and garlic, and sautee for about five minutes. Add the tomato sauce, and the salt, pepper and any seasonings you want. Reduce the heat and add the mushrooms. Let it simmer for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. If you like it hot, add hot pepper sauce to taste. Serve with shredded parmesan cheese (store bought is fine).
Creamy mushroom sauce (25 minutes)
- 6 ounces of crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ounces of shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 2 ounces of any other type of mushroom, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 8 ounces of crème fraiche
- 4 ounces of white wine
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- salt and pepper
Pour the olive oil into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sautee them for about eight minutes, or until they become translucent). Add the sliced mushrooms and crushed garlic to the onions and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add in the white wine and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the sauce reduces by half. Add the crème fraiche and a half cup of water, and bring it to a boil once more. Cook for about five minutes to thicken the sauce. Add your salt, pepper and any herbs or seasonings you want and stir well.
Basic Alfredo (20 minutes)
If you think of Alfredo sauce as bland, you haven’t had good Alfredo sauce. It’s a classic for a reason, and you can make a delicious batch of it in just twenty minutes.
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 1/2 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Nutmeg, to taste
Put a large saucepan over low heat. Add butter and cream, and let it simmer for about five minutes. Add in the garlic and cheese and whisk quickly. Add a pinch of nutmeg and stir it in thoroughly. Taste, and add more nutmeg if desired.
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Updated: May 6, 2012
Copyright: May 6, 2012
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
There’s also a whole world of olive-oil-and-vegetables sauces that are quick, healthy, and wonderful. For all of them, toss 1 lb. cooked pasta in the sauce and add grated parmesan to taste.
1. Basic: 4 Tb olive oil, 4 or 5 cloves garlic minced fine, salt, and pepper (herbs and/or red pepper flakes optional). Once pasta is cooked, drain it and return empty boiling pot to heat. Add olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper (plus options, if desired). Saute a few minutes til garlic is softened, add a few Tb water or broth, remove from heat, add pasta back in and toss.
2. With mushrooms and peas: Make basic sauce, but add a big double handful of sliced mushrooms (cremini are great) to oil first, let cook til they start to weep, then add the rest of the ingredients for the basic sauce. When garlic is cooked, add 1 cup or more of frozen green peas and cook til peas are just thawed. Toss pasta in sauce as above. (This is also heavenly with small frozen cooked salad shrimp added in with the peas.)
3. Faux lo mein: Use a separate frying pan for sauce, and medium heat. Start with olive oil, add 1 med onion, chopped, 1 or 2 cups julienned carrot and 1 cup celery, sliced thin. While they are cooking, slice 1 or 2 cups of mushrooms and shred 2 or 3 cups of green cabbage, and add to pan. When cabbage starts to wilt, add 4 or 5 cloves garlic, minced fine, and seasoning. After a minute, add a big splash of tamari or a bigger splash of commercial stir-fry sauce, and a few Tb of water or pasta cooking liquid, remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for a few minutes. Then toss with pasta. This is also good with green peas and/or slivered red bell pepper — add them with the garlic. Also good with salad shrimp or crumbled tofu.
The sky’s the limit. Make the mushroom sauce with fresh spinach. Make the faux lo mein without the tamari, carrots, and celery, but with double the cabbage, plus cooked chick peas added after the garlic (sounds strange, but tastes great) — also good with red cabbage. Make the mushroom sauce with frozen french-cut green beans and a some good canned tuna — also good with coarsely-chopped black olives and/or some capers. The olive oil, garlic, and herbs will carry just about anything you want to add, and it’s healthy.
I’ve found that you can make a huge quantity of vegetables — cooked, as much as twice the volume of pasta — and once they’re stirred in, it still seems like pasta just lightly garnished with veggies. That means it’s great to serve to dieters and the veggie-phobic, too! For veggie haters, shred cabbage and chop onion extra-fine, and cook the sauce a little longer — they’ll both cook into a smooth mush that simply coats the pasta and tastes heavenly.
Awesome recipes and tips there, Westomoon! Thank you so much!
My pleasure — genuinely! There’s something about your posts that inspires me to notice that I have something to share too.
That’s awesome! Thank you so much!