(thing) by momomom Wed Mar 21 2001 at 23:14:38

Rose's Plain Sauce (she made it with fresh tomatoes and non of the optional ingredients):

(This is a heavily garliced, tomato based pasta sauce, kind of along the marinara line). Only eat this if the people you will be close to are having it too or the garlic breath will prevent any closeness! The garlic is good for a cold too!

Serves 4 - 6 people
VEGETARIAN optional
NUTRITIOUS
can be CHEAP if you don't use expensive extras
LOW FAT if you don't top with a lot of cheese, or use cream, cheese or sausage while cooking
QUICK(less than 1 hour) and very EASY to make
Measurements are approximations, OK to vary to taste
Freezes well, OK to make the sauce ahead of time. If freezing ahead, cook the pasta just before serving

  • 4 - 16 ounce cans of chopped tomatoes (Italian spices in the cans are fine but not salsa) or 8 cups of fresh, ripe tomatoes cut in 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 full head of garlic (10 - 15 cloves or so, finely minced
  • basil - fresh or frozen but not dried, chopped or whole leaves, about 20 medium leaves or 1/4 cup
  • Italian flat leaf parsley - 1/4 cup fresh or frozen but not dried, stems removed and minced
  • salt to taste (maybe less than 1 teaspoon)
  • pepper to taste (we use about 1 Tablespoon but we like it hot)
  • cayenne pepper to taste (this is optional, I use about 3 pinches)
  • sugar - about 1 Tablespoon
  • vegetables (optional) 1 - 2 cups
    options I've tried are: finely chopped carrots, julienne zucchini, sliced or chopped mushroom, broccoli flowerets. These were all good but no vegetables at all is also good
  • extra virgin olive oil - 1/4 cup
  • pasta - 1 pound
  • grated Italian cheese - the best cheese for this is a hard (also called table) Ricotta cheese, if you can't find that you want something tangy and a bit salty
  • Italian Sausage or Shrimp (both optional and I don't like them in it but others do)

Instructions:

  • Get everything ready, open cans, chop everything, spices out, clean shrimp if using, pre boil sausage if using
  • Put water on to boil for pasta, cook pasta according to package instructions at the same time as you make the sauce
  • Heat olive oil to medium high but not smoking temperature.
  • Boil Italian Sausage(if using)in a separate pan, discard the water, then break into pieces and sauté until browned or clean and shell shrimp
  • Sauté vegetables (if using) briefly 1 - 2 minutes
  • Sauté minced garlic briefly, only until tan, not brown.
  • Add tomatoes with liquid from the cans, basil, parsley, salt, peppers, sugar.
  • Bring to a boil
  • Reduce heat and simmer 20"
  • Drain pasta (reserve 1 cup pasta water)
  • Dress pasta with sauce (add reserved water to sauce if it is too thick)
  • Serve with freshly grated hard Ricotta cheese or a substitute

    • Variations:
    If you don't like chunky tomatoes in sauce mash, chop, blend or use the food processor on some or all of the tomatoes before adding to the garlic. This step can also be done after cooking if it won't chop optional vegetables or meats.

    If you want to disguise the vegetables:
    chop them finely before adding. This works well for carrots or mushrooms but not zucchini or broccoli.

    Non vegetarian:
    add shrimp with the tomatoes OR break up the Italian Sausage and fry in olive oil before frying the garlic

    To make a cream based sauce:
    When everything else is done add some heavy cream (1/2 to 1 cup) to the sauce and heat up. It also works well to use non fat half and half. May also add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.

    Plain with just garlic, basil, and pepper (and a few pats of butter) ... this sauce can really dress up a frozen lasagna ... to the point of rave reviews.

    Tips on ingredients:

    • Buy or grow basil in the summer and then freeze the leaves whole in zip lock bags.
    • Buy or grow parsley in the summer, mince finely and freeze in zip lock bags.
    • The difference in taste between fresh or frozen and dried basil and parsley is remarkable. Dry is hardly worth using. See freezing fresh herbs.
    • Hard Ricotta cheese grows mold very easily. To prevent this it can be cut into 1 - 2 inch cubes, wrapped individually in tin foil and frozen. Defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours or overnight in the refrigerator. It can sometimes be found at Italian markets but is a seasonal product so it is not always available. This is another good reason to freeze some ahead of time.
    • Italian Sausage can be either "sweet" (has fennel seed in it) or "hot" (has hot pepper flakes in it). For this recipe I've always used "sweet" but since Cayenne Pepper is part of the recipe I'd imagine one could use "hot" and adjust the seasoning accordingly. Sausage spoils very easily. Either use it the day you buy it or freeze it immediately. Boil sausage prior to freezing or frying and discard the greasy water.

     
In Baltimore THE PLACE for Italian Groceries is:
Trinacria Macaroni Works
open 8:30 to 4:30 Monday to Saturday
406 N Paca St
Baltimore, MD 21201-1880
410-685-7285

    I like it!