We’ve covered how to make pasta from scratch, how to cook pasta, and how to make sure your pasta doesn’t stick. The only pasta basic we haven’t covered so far? How to cook pasta sauce. And so, without further ado, here is a quick guide on how to cook a simple olive oil and garlic based pasta sauce.
How to Cook Pasta Sauce
Today, we’re going to focus on a very simple olive oil based sauce that will pair well with almost every type of pasta. Keep it simple by tossing your pasta with this sauce, or add vegetables like sauted mushrooms and tomatoes to give it more complexity. However you use it, it will keep your pasta flavor simple and rich. Here’s how to make it.
Combine 1/3 cup of olive oil, along with three cloves of finely chopped garlic, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of chopped parsley. Add all four ingredients into a skillet over medium high and use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients together while they heat up.
Make sure to move the garlic around frequently to avoid burning it (which will also alter the flavor of the pasta sauce). Once the garlic is slightly brown, add in the cooked pasta and toss in the skillet to coat the pasta evenly with the sauce.
This simple sauce can easily be modified by adding additional ingredients like chopped tomatoes or onions, or even replacing the parsley with other spices like dill or rosemary. Use it as a base to experiment with other styles and flavors for your pasta.
What’s your favorite type of pasta sauce to cook? How do you create your sauce? What’s your favorite flavors for pasta? Share them with us in the comments!
Cut up a whole bunch of canning tomatoes from your local farmer, add fresh garlic, fresh basil, fresh oregano, fresh thyme,bay leaf, fresh onion, fresh pepper, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5-6 hours until reduced by half. Eat. I make this up every summer, we eat as much as we can, freeze a bunch and give away a whole lot to friends and family!
I love it when the tomatoes are summer fresh! It makes great sauce! Great tip. Thanks for sharing!