Home alone? Nothing to eat? Well, if you’ve got any kind of pasta in the pantry, and a few basic, staple condiments, you can make yourself a fast, easy and inexpensive pasta sauce with fewer ingredients than you thought necessary! These sauces have pulled me through many a bare-pantry evening. You can also easily double, triple or quadruple these recipes, or spruce them up with mushrooms or vegetables for guests, as a surprisingly easy way to “wow” your friends.
Basic Tomato Sauce
1/2 Can Tomatoes, pureed or diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, warm olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic, basil, oregano, and black pepper. Stir. Add canned tomatoes. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes.
Serve hot over prepared pasta.
Poor Man’s Pesto
1/3 cup olive oil
5 tablespoons dried basil
3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
In a medium skillet, warm olive oil over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add basil, oregano, and rosemary and stir until evenly distributed. Slowly add Parmesan and continue stirring for 3-4 minutes.
Chill and serve cool over pasta.
Quick Asian-Style Peanut Sauce
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup water
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey, if peanut butter is unsweetened
2 teaspoons ginger powder
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
In a medium skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger. Slowly add peanut butter, stirring frequently and adding water as needed to create viscous liquid consistency. Add soy sauce and honey. Mix well, continue stirring frequently 5-10 minutes until hot.
Serve hot over prepared pasta.
Simple Garlic-Butter Sauce
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
In a medium skillet, melt butter over low heat until aqueous. Add garlic and allow to sizzle for 1 minute. Add pepper, basil, and oregano. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes until hot.
Serve warm over prepared pasta.
Easy Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon butter, margarine, or olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
In a medium skillet, heat butter, margarine, or olive oil over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add garlic, basic, and oregano. Add sour cream and stir well until it becomes free-flowing and liquid. Slowly mix in Parmesan cheese, stir until well distributed. Continue stirring frequently over low heat for 5 minutes or until hot.
Serve warm over prepared pasta.
Variations:
Add any kind of vegetable to these pastas to round them out and give them more flavor and body.
Simmer the basic tomato sauce all day for a delightfully melded flavor.
Substitute almond or cashew butter in the peanut sauce or a unique taste experience!
Mix and match cheeses in the Alfredo sauce.
Try adding pine nuts or walnuts to the pesto sauce.
Use red pepper instead of black to vary the flavor of any of these sauces.
Try adding cooking wine or mushrooms to the garlic-butter sauce!
Add salmon to the Alfredo sauce for a surprisingly fancy flavor.
