good sauces for pasta?

Question

im really sick of marinara and alfredo! also, i'm a vegetarian. at the grocery store, it seems that theres only marinara and alfredo, and variations thereof... at restaurants ive had like a sun dried tomato chedder sauce and a cajun cream sauce on my pasta...

im only 19, i cant really cook... are there more unique sauces that come in jars at the grocery store? or can someone teach me how to cook the sauces?? thanks!

im vegetarian not vegan... i eat dairy and such

Answer 1

Sauce is very simple. The easiest way to make it is to avoid the temptation of making a cream-based sauce because while those taste the best, they don't keep well in the fridge, and separate when you re-heat them.

Your best bet is to make a flour-based sauce. You can use this basic recipe in any number of different ways to make tons of delicious sauces.

Combine equal parts of flour and butter in a saucepan set to medium or lower. (So if you want a single serving, for example, combine 2 tbsp flour with 2 tbsp butter). Let this mixture bubble for awhile (but DON'T let it burn). After it's been bubbling for about five minutes, add milk. Sometimes adding a bit of condensed milk can really help the consistency of your sauce. If you keep stirring, you'll find the sauce will thicken. Add milk until it's to the desired consistency. This is your base.

Once you've made the base, the rest is up to you. You can season it however you like to create any number of delicious sauces. A few things you might want to try:

- Crush a chicken bouillon cube (or several, depending on how much sauce you're making) into the base. It gives the sauce a nice rich flavor. I use these for making potato soup.

- Slice up orange peppers and roast them in the oven until they're soft. Add the roasted peppers (along with beef broth or, since you're vegetarian, beef flavoring) for a nice stroganoff-inspired sauce

- Add grated cheese to the base with a few spices (you might try a dash of cayenne pepper) for a yummy cheese sauce. But when you're working with cheese, make sure you add the cheese at the very end so it doesn't congeal.

Good luck!

Answer 2

If you are a vegan...you are probably going to have to learn to cook for yourself, as the pre-made choices are fairly limited. However, I would go to the organic section of a larger grocery store, as you can often find more vegetarian style items there than on the regular grocery shelves. Not to mention, many of those marinara and alfredo sauces you are buying....aren't actually vegan if you are a true vegan, as they are frequently made with some type of animal fat. That said, I would start looking on vegetarian websites for recipes. An easy alternative you might want to try....


Toss cooked pasta (any style) in a large skillet with olive oil, sliced sun-dried tomatoes, one small diced onion, fresh mushrooms, and minced garlic. Serve when thoroughly heated.

Answer 3

Easy Pasta

Ingredients

100g pasta
sun dried tomato paste or vegan tomato pasta sauce
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
soya milk
1 knob margarine
1 teaspoon vegan bouillon powder
salt
pepper

Boil the pasta until cooked (usually about 10 minutes).

Drain and add all of the other ingredients except the milk. Stir well and slowly add the milk until the sauce is runny enough to suit your taste. Simmer for 5 minutes adding more milk if necessary.

Answer 4

Cook your pasta while you're making this topping. Sautee garlic in olive oil. In same pan brown Italian seasoned bread crumbs. Drain pasta. Put topping over pasta, add more oilive oil if needed. Add a little chopped Italian parsley and grated parmesan reggiano (freshly grated if possible, if not, deli-grated). The recipe as written calls for proscuitto (thinly sliced Italian ham), This recipe is from Everyday Italian on the Food Network. You can also buy a sun-dried tomato pesto in your pasta aisle at your grocer's.

Pasta is so versatile and inexpensive, it's a great way to use your imagination and practice some cooking skills.

Buon appetito!!

Answer 5

Saute mushrooms and onions in some butter, add a little cream or milk, pour over hot pasta and toss with some parmesan cheese


Chop 1 bell pepper, saute until soft, chop some fresh basil, add to 2 cans tomato sauce, and 1 can diced tomatoes with juice and serve over pasta


for a cold pasta salad
Super Macaroni Salad
1 16 oz box macaroni cooked,drained and cooled
1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise (Hellmans, Kraft's,etc)
1 cup white vinegar more or less
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 large green pepper finely chopped
1/8 cup minced onion
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/ 2 cup sugar

Pour the macaroni in a large bowl, add the veggies including the onions, set aside. In a smaller bowl mix remaining ingredients, taste, it should have a nice sweet and sour flavor, add more sugar or vinegar until you like the taste. Then pour over the macaroni veggie mix, blend well and put in fridge until ready to serve.



Pasta salad
1 lb. Rotini pasta, cooked and cooled (or other pasta)
1 bottle creamy italian dressing
1 pkg. kraft cheddar cubes
1/2 pkg. sliced pepperoni
2 tomatoes, diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and toss.

Answer 6

If you have good pasta, simpler is better. Cook some pasta al dente. While you're doing that, put 1/4 cup of olive oil over medium high heat, bloom 3 cloves of garlic for about 30 seconds when the oil is just shimmering, toss in your pasta and 2 tbs of the pasta water, and 2/3 cup of chopped parsley. Toss, and serve with parmesan.

Answer 7

i just bought a sun dried tomato alfredo today, looks good, and you can do pesto which is basil and oil, its simple and you can get the basil part of it with instructions in the mccormicks sauces in the aisle of the grocery store where they sell the sauces and gravy mixes. you can add to that chopped tomato if you like too, you can also find chedder type sauces with the alfredo and such. watch food network, rachel ray and giada,,,,,,,, and they both do great things with food thats not too difficult.

Answer 8

The easiest and bestest pasta sauce ever.

1/2 avocado mashed up
125mls thickened cream
1/4 or 1/2 cup parmesan (depending on your taste)

Mix everything together and put on top of very hot pasta. Yum Yum Yum. If you pasta has cooled slightly zap the mixed up sauce and pasta in the microwave for a minute.

Answer 9

Try pesto! All you need is fresh basil, olive oil, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese (optional) and pine nuts. Oh and a food processor helps. You can personalize this too. Add sun dried tomatoes, parsely, mint, roasted bell peppers, etc. and make it your own.

Answer 10

cream cheese, fresh basil leaves, roasted red peppers (from a jar) whiz together in food processor or blender...waalaah! I also throw in broccolli and cauliflower. I love this with bowtie pasta. Cooks in like 10 minutes!