Marinara sauce is probably the most common red pasta sauce, but by no means the only one: tomatoes are an extraordinary foil for other vegetables, especially eggplants and bell peppers, and also go very well with cured meats and spices.
Dino Romano recently took me to task for linking to a modern Italian (in Italian) marinara sauce recipe that took liberties he was right to object to, saying: "Even Neapolitans, known for some departures when it comes to plain tomato sauce, wouldn't use parsley and oregano AND onion mixed with garlic in a sauce." Here is his marinara sauce recipe. Actually, two marinara sauces, one with whole tom…
Dino Romano recently took me to task for linking to a modern Italian (in Italian) marinara sauce recipe that took liberties he was right to object to, saying: "Even Neapolitans, known for some departures when it comes to plain tomato sauce, wouldn't use parsley and oregano AND onion mixed with garlic in a sauce." Here is his marinara sauce recipe. Actually, two marinara sauces, one with whole tomatoes and the other with pureed tomatoes.
One might not think to combine legumes and long pasta, but if you stop to think about it, pasta e fagioli (bean soup with pasta) is an extraordinarily successful dish. Here we have lentils instead, with their richness balanced by zesty tomato accents and much more, in an unusual primavera sauce.
Tomatoes go extraordinarily well with olives and capers, and make for a perfect pasta sauce.
5-Colored Shells and a Sicilian Eggplant Sauce: The term "Five-Colored" brings Chinese to mind somehow, though these are quite Italian. The colors are given to the pasta by saffron, beet juice, squid ink, and spinach (pale is uncolored). They're about an inch long and half an inch deep. Cooking time: 8 minutes. Possible substitutions: Uncolored shells, fusilli, cavatelli, penne, ziti.
A recipe? Sicilian eggplant sauce with tomatoes and olives.
Riccioli Amalfitani, and an Eggplant and Mozzarella Sauce for Them: The word ricciolo means curl, and is quite appropriate in this case; it's a shape that will work quite well with chunky sauces.
The Sauce: Eggplant is extremely versatile, playing a central role in South Italian cooking, from Sicily's pasta with eggplant through the glorious Neapolitan Melanzane alla Parmigiana. Here it stars in another pasta dish, with mozzarella.
Shells with Red Pesto, or Conchiglie al Pesto Rosso: Though people commonly associate the word pesto with the green garlic-and-basil sauce from Liguria, the word derives from the verb pestare, to step on or grind, and therefore applies to any sauce made from ground ingredients. In this case, sun-dried tomatoes and almonds, which will balance each other quite well. The recipe is easy.
Pasta Snails with Olives, or Chiocciole Saltate Alle Olive: This is one of those quick sauces you can do while the pasta water is heating. Enjoy!
Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes, or Pasta Con Pomodori Secchi: Dried tomatoes are a southern thing in Italy, to the point that a deli owner I bought them from in Florence once told me he didn't know what to do with them. This is a Calabrian recipe.
I have harped so much on the weather of late that a little more now won't hurt; here's a zesty recipe from the island of Stromboli.
Fusilli with Peppers and Eggplant, or Fusilli con Peperoni e Melanzane: Monzù Gerardo Modugno presented this recipe at the Festival dei Maccheroni held by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina on May 8, 1989, and Caròla Francesconi was able enough to pry the recipe from him.
Sicilian Pesto Sauce, or Pesto alla Siciliana: Almost everyone is familiar with Pesto alla Genovese, the green garlic-and-basil sauce that's one of the symbols of Ligurian cuisine. The verb pestare means "to stomp on," or to crush, and therefore the word pesto describes a process more than a product. Indeed, pesto alla genovese is made by grinding the ingredients in a mortar. So is Pesto alla Siciliana, which is made with tomatoes rather than basil.
Penne Rigate with Peppers and Eggplant: In winter, penne are perfect with a thick meat sauce. In the summer, on the other hand, this vegetable sauce will be much more refreshing.
Orecchiette with an Olive and Tomato Sauce: Orecchiette are one of the classic pasta shapes from Puglia, and though they were rare elsewhere when I moved to Italy in 1982, they have by now become commonplace. The name, orecchiette, means little ears because they resemble the human ear in shape. They are especially renowned as being an accompaniment for broccoli rabe, but do nicely with other things too, for example black olives.
Pennette with Eggplant, or Pennette alle Melanzane: Eggplant is one of the finest vegetables to accompany pasta with. This recipe is from Lazio, via Diana, whose family hales from the region.
Pasta alla Carrettiera, Cart-Driver's Sauce: Pasta alla Carrettiera means Card-Driver's Sauce, and is the sort of thing one expects to find in a truck stop -- simple, tasty, and satisfying. It's usually a spicy tomato sauce, though there are also unusual variations on the theme.
Cavatelli and a Tomato-Arugola Sauce: Cavatelli and a Tomato-Arugola Sauce: Cavatelli are a traditional Puglian pasta, and though Luigi Sada gives a sauce recipe in La Cucina Pugliese, he doesn't say how to make the pasta. Pasta e Sughi, part of a series put out by Fabbri Editore, does. They say the preparation is moderately difficult and will take about two hours.
An Odd Carrettiera Recipe: I've also gotten a request for spaghetti alla carrettiera, cart-driver's spaghetti. You might expect that something aimed at people who spend the day out in the elements would be hearty, and it is. It's also quite common in restaurants, and I was surprised at how many cookbooks I had to leaf through to find a recipe. To be honest, what I found is quite different from what I recall, but is interesting enough to present.
Penne alla Vodka -- -- Penne with Vodka Sauce
Arrabbiata means angry, and if made right these penne are spicy. Though the versions offered by the really cheap eateries in Rome rely primarily on garlic and hot pepper for their punch, some of the versions printed in cookbooks generally also call for pancetta (cured, unsmoked salt pork) and onions.
There are a number of stories about the origins of this zesty sauce, the raciest being that a Puttana, or Lady of the Evening, could prepare it in the time it took here to work with a client, and enjoy it while recovering from her exertions. Whatever, it is good.
In Tuscany, the word sugo by itself means meat sauce. Sugo finto is made like meat sauce, but the meat is left out. As the title suggests, it serves 4.
Since pasta primavera comes from the garden, and everyone's garden differs, there's an infinite number of variations on this sauce.
This sauce is surprisingly good. The tomatoes, carrot, celery, onion, and parsley are essential; feel free to add other vegetables that are in season.
Though slow-cooking pomarola is quite tasty, there are times you'll want something quicker -- that's when this classic Neapolitan sauce comes into play. It's perfect for pasta, but will also work well with rice or pizza.
There's no dish quite so refreshing on a hot day as a bowl of pasta seasoned with lots of freshly made pomarola and a handful of grated cheese. This recipe expands well, and most households make gallons of it when the flood of tomatoes reaches its peak in August, forcing the prices down. It can also be adapted to canned plum tomatoes.
This was a standby of Adriana Lotti, who was head of staff at the academic program my father directed for a number of years in Rome. It requires first-rate tomatoes and is wonderful when the weather is hot.
When I was quite little my father worked on an excavation in Sicily, and this eggplant sauce is one of the earliest sauces I remember.
A classic sauce, with some excellent variations.
A rich spring recipe with artichokes, peas, and asparagus.
Tomato and Cream: Quick, light and tasty -- ideal for unexpected company.
Another Ligurian specialty, trenette (thin linguine) with eggplant and pesto sauce. And again, quite healthy.
A quick Roman sauce with tomatoes, herbs and just a bit of prosciutto fat -- essential to Supplí al telefono, but a good pasta sauce too.
A tasty bean-based vegetable medley that will also make a good pasta sauce if you don't cook all the water out of it.
Among the flavored pastas, hot pepper pasta is perhaps the most popular, and it works very well with this zesty caper and anchovy sauce.
A refreshing summer pasta sauce made with bell peppers and garlic.
Sicily's classic signature sauce features an unusual combination of sardines and fennel, all laced with pine nuts and raisins.
Italians often add vegetables to the pasta water -- in this case potatoes, with a leek-and-ricotta sauce.
Butterflies with a zesty summer sauce of peppers and arugola. If you add tomato, mozzarella, and chill, you've got picnic food!
What you'll get in the trattorie in Rome. Hot enough to cool you off, and perfect with a caraffe of Colli Albani.
A refreshing Sardinian type of pasta in tomato sauce.
Pasta with a zesty radicchio-and-prosciutto based sauce.
Zucchini-based this time, and creamy too, with some tomato.
A quick, chunky sauce made with tomatoes and olives.
Quick, simple, and tasty. Calls for canned tomatoes, which means you can make it year round!
A quick, light summery pasta sauce.
Tasty, refreshing, and quick.
This is a Swiss concoction, creamed macaroni and potatoes with apple sauce. May sound odd to the uninitiated (including your Guide), but it will certainly help keep winter at bay.
"Pesto on the west coast of Sicily is quite different from the well-known Genoese variety," says Erica De Mane. "It's made with the addition of almonds, tomatoes, usually a little mint or celery leaves, and sometimes Pecorino..."
Cavatelli with an Arugola and tomato sauce, from Clifford Wright.
Pasta with eggplant and peppers (not the sausage, which is
salsiccia piccante); a tasty looking recipe from The Artisan.
Skip Lombardi's version of a wonderful pasta sauce made with eggplant and tomatoes. As he notes, the eggplant puree works quite nicely as an antipasto if spread over crostini.
A delightful vegetable sauce, and an even more interesting digression on gardening, one of the pleasures that many of us no longer think we have time to do. From La Lama Family Secrets.
By Barbara Goodman. I might reduce the rosemary somewhat.
A red sauce for pasta: Classic Sicilian immigrant cooking, with reminiscences of the past.
"Here is a delicious Sicilian pesto that is always on the menu at Trattoria Stella, in Palermo," says Erica de Mane.
"Roasted peppers go well with strong flavors such as those of capers and olives," notes Erica de Mane.
