Elf vs. Pasta Sauce: Pasta Sauce Wins Again

[elfs]

So, I tried to move my recipe in one direction or another, this time by using organic plum tomatoes, six cloves of garlic, three ounces of pancetta^[?], and twice the recommended dose of basil.

It tasted more or less the same. The salty, savory pancetta, the garlic, and the basil all just disappeared into the sauce.

I really like this recipe because it's easy and completely home-made, but what does it take to make it taste like, well, like anything else?

Comments

[polydad.livejournal.com]

Truffle oil?

best,

Joel. Who'd try Macademias next.

[lisakit.livejournal.com]

Different herbs, instead of adding more of the same?

I like thyme and oregano, sometimes in addition, sometimes instead of basil. I also sometimes use a red onion instead of white or yellow.

You could also use clams and clam juice to add a different element. Dr. Dean Ornish has a good recipe for a clam marinara that includes carrots cooked and pureed into the sauce.

Or you could do the unthinkable and buy a bottle of Classico Four Cheese sauce. ;p

[solarbird]

Maybe celery salt. Possibly rosemary. Very certainly cutting up an onion into small pieces, cooking it to clear first in the pot you're using for the whole thing (so you can deglaze the pot into the sauce), then adding the main sauce and cooking. More work, but you'll know you did stuff.

You have a lot of garlic going into this, you'll need a lot of anything else to shift the taste.

[solarbird]

Actually, not quite to clear. But cooked. They'll cook more in the sauce and end up cooked to clear.

(This is part of the process for my spaghetti sauce with ground beef.)

[featheredfrog.livejournal.com]

Sage. Considerable amounts of sage. In addition, brown whole sage leaves in butter and use as a garnish on top of the pasta/sauce pile.

If nothing else, the thujone (more than in wormwood, in fact) will have good effects.

Not too much for the girls, of course.

[shadowfey.livejournal.com]

Shocking your seasonings in oil will also help them to release their flavour. Do this in the bottom of the pot you use to make the sauce, building the sauce on top of the 'shocked' seasonings.

[solarbird]

Plus I've found that roasting the seasonings with the onion - see above; I usually include a little garlic olive oil - saves time by combining steps. ^_^

[mothball-07.livejournal.com]

Basil is delicate. Add it last, rather than putting it in to simmer away, *especially* if you're using fresh.

I'd concur with other recommendations to try *different* spices to shift the flavour. Italian sausage is also a clear easy strong shift. Pepperoni instead of the softer pancetta is also an option.

Not cooking the tomatoes as long is also an option - gives a fresher flavour if you're using a good brand (like Muir, since you mentioned Organic.)

But, I'd pick one thing to really move with, and stick to that, rather than upping the existing proportions.

Saucy

[shemayazi.livejournal.com]

Quite simply, baslamic vinagrette. It has an alchemy with the tomatoes and the basil that brings out the best in both.

[amberleewriter.livejournal.com]

I have several ways to change the base flavor of my basic pasta sauce.

1) 1/2 a chopped onion browned in equal parts butter and EVOO with 1/2 to a full teaspoon of cracked fennel seeds before adding the rest of my ingredients

2) use butter only with finely chopped onion, garlic, and fresh basil. Add a pinch of sugar and about 1/2 cup of good red wine (Burgundy or Chianti) with the rest.

3) Use only unfiltered EVOO with roasted garlic, fresh basil and fresh oregano before adding tomatoes. A dash of red chili pepper flakes along with any meat comes later for accent.

I am also known to add fresh grated romano or asiago to the browning process (with garlic and/or onions) to give the cheese and the oil a dark nutty flavor I normally get when making pesto with pine nuts.

I have no idea if this will help but take it as you will.

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

I like to brown my diced garlic on stovetop in a little oil and liberal worchester sauce. Then mix into the browning garlic your diced sweet onion. Mix the resulting carmelized onions into your sauce about halfway through it's brewing, and don't be afraid to use cumen in your sauce as well.

Works for me.

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

...and don't forget that Marsala is cooking magic....

[mo-hair.livejournal.com]

possibilities:
-sage or oregano
-finely diced sauteed onion, i also saute the pile of garlic with this and then deglaze the pan
-balsamic vinegar or a burgundy wine
-liquid prepared by soaking dried mushrooms in boiled water
-a little finely grated asiago, or something similar

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

I def. like the meaty/umami taste of mushrooms in a tomato sauce -- someone suggested truffle, but if that's too $$$, I like to soak dried shiitake or porcini (Boletus sp.) in hot water until soft then add both the water and the chopped up mushrooms (possibly even processed in a food processor, but that goes against your tenet of simplicity). You can get dried mixed wild mushrooms in Slavic or Italian stores. Button/portobello mushrooms can be added for bulk, but their taste isn't robust enough to stand up on its own.

I've never had pancetta, but I imagine you could vary the taste a lot by varying the meat. My favourite, if possibly difficult to get, spicy Turkish sucuk sausage is phenomenal in pasta sauce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soujouk.

pasta sauce

[nyrhed.livejournal.com]

I second using the fresh herbs at the end, to preserve their flavor. Pancetta has a very delicate flavor, so it is not surprising it gets lost in a robust tomato sauce. depending on the flavor you seek , sausage or ham might get you there...Our family favorite is lots of very robust fungi, portobellos or dried shitake, rehydrated make a great, robust vegetarian sauce.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]