Fresh pasta - sauce ideas?
I'm venturing into the land of homemade fresh pasta for the first time tonight, and I need suggestions on the right sauce to do this pasta justice. I was thinking of a clam sauce or a shrimp scampi sort of thing - light but rich. Other ideas?
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Italians pick and tin tomato at the peak of freshness and taste. Seldom will you find a super market tomato with taste - even when the label says vine ripened etc.
Tossing it with raw tomatoes sounds lovely, but I'm in Minnesota and our tomatoes just aren't ready yet. I'll save that idea for later this summer. Cheers!
But I like a little fresh grated parm on my pasta con vongole. Unlike more delicately flavored fish, I think the clams can stand up to it. I understand it's an Italian-American variation on tradition, and that's fine. Since I'm not in Italy, I'm not worried about the carabinieri throwing me in the slammer. (And yes, I've eaten it in Italy many times and refrained, but when in Rome....)
Yes, less is more. All fine suggestions here. Brown butter and Mizithra being another (and favorite) example.
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I would use these building blocks; olive oil, garlic, parsley, white wine, salt and pepper, perhaps some hot pepperoncino (up to you), perhaps some fennel fronds. What you learn in Italy (unless you are in Bologna) is that less is more. These ingredients will combine well with shrimp and fresh pasta. Keep in mind that fresh cut pasta cooks in about 2 to 3 minutes so be ready. Add the pasta to the sauce, not vice versa.