Pasta Sauces
Mmmm. Pasta sauces. The phrase itself evokes food memories of my short Italian trip, where I got to sample authentic Florentine, Venetian and Roman pasta drenched in appetizing sauces.
Although I'm not an expert in Italian cuisine, I believe it's not difficult to make these sauces. As long as I've access to the freshest ingredients, patience and good cooking ware, I'm set to go. There is more to just regular tomato based sauce. Sauces can range from pesto basil to olive oil to sun dried tomatoes base. Or seafood like clams and mussels to hardy chicken and beef ones.
Author Pamela Sheldon Johns recommends a variety of Italian sauces in her 50 Great Pasta Sauces recipe book. She divides them into four mouth-watering categories that highlight the fresh seasonal ingredients. The categories are vegetable sauces, meat sauces, seafood sauces and dairy sauces. Enjoy reading them!
Dairy Sauces:
Carbonara sauce
Cream sauce (pair with prosciutto)
Browned butter and sage sauce
Red pepper besciamella sauce ('besciamella' means white sauce)
White truffle butter sauce
Walnut pesto sauce
Balsamic cream sauce
Parmigiano-butter sauce
Creamy goat cheese sauce
Four-cheese sauce (fontina, Gorgonzola, ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella, mascarpone or provolone)
Ricotta sauce (great with grilled vegs in the summer)
Fontina sauce (fontina cheese comes from the northern region of Piemonte)
Robiola sauce
Gorgonzola-walnut sauce (can be substituted with its younger version, dolcelatte)
Scamorza and greens sauce
Pecorino and pepper sauce
Meat (Ragù) Sauces:
Bolognese sauce (originated from Bologna)
Baked tomato and meatball sauce
Rosemary-lamb sauce
Summer beef sauce
Pork and black truffle sauce
Wild boar sauce
Sausage and pepper sauce
Rabbit and thyme sauce
Roasted chicken sauce
Duck sauce
Chicken liver sauce (rich!)
Seafood Sauces:
Snapper and herb sauce (any fish will do)
Lemon-tuna sauce
Swordfish and caper sauce (capers are flower buds of a scrubby Mediterranean plant that literally grows out of the rocks)
Anchovy and raddicchio sauce
Pepper and anchovy sauce
Shellfish sauce (pair with spaghetti di nero, pasta with squid's black ink)
Clam sauce
Garlic shrimp and wine sauce
Vegetable Sauces:
Basil pesto sauce
Classic tomato sauce
Roasted tomato sauce (roasting brings our the sweetness of early tomatoes)
Arrabiata sauce ('angry' sauce because it's spicy)
Garlic tomato sauce (recipe uses immature garlic)
Roasted beets sauce (roasting enhances the beet flavor)
Asparagus and butter sauce
Grilled vegetable sauce (ideal for summer!)
Fava bean sauce
Borlotti bean sauce ('borlotti' is also known as cranberry bean)
Tomato and white bean sauce
Orange-caper sauce (caper? yum!!)
Arugula and pancetta sauce (can be substituted with Tuscan kale or cavolo nero)
Greens and anchovy sauce
Wild mushroom sauce
Source: 50 Great Pasta Sauces
Other Sauces not listed in the book, but equally popular:
Vodka sauce
Lemon and olive oil sauce
Sun dried tomato sauce
Masala sauce
Grilled red pepper and tomato sauce
Marinara sauce
Olives and olive oil sauce
Oxtail sauce
Roasted garlic sauce
Butter and sage sauce
Date: 9/12/2010