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15 ways to dress up store-bought pasta
Take a bag of dried pasta, good quality extra virgin olive oil, a head of garlic, peppercorns and salt, and you have the makings of a meal. Add fresh herbs from a supermarket sachet and you have a feast.
People have been flavouring this staple with fresh herbs for ages. The simplicity of a bowl of spaghetti glistening with olive oil, flecked with chopped parsley, garlic, and grounds of peppercorn and Parmesan is more beguiling to today’s palate and much easier to produce than a coating of the more complex meat-based sauces that are often served in fancier restaurants.
Most herbs have obvious partners.
- Fresh sage adds character to a ricotta and cream sauce. Shred a few leaves into a sauce you make or a store-bought one to enhance its flavour.
- Tarragon responds well to cream as well as the scrapings from the bottom of a roasted chicken pan. Pour a little white wine or water over them, put the pan over a low flame and scratch away at the brown scrapings with a wooden spoon. Once they are loose and bubbling into the liquid, add a bit of cream and reduce to thicken before throwing in a handful of chopped tarragon. Pour at once over a warmed bowl of spaghetti.
- Basil is renowned for its compatibility with tomatoes. But it also flatters other Mediterranean vegetables like aubergines and roasted red peppers. You can cube and salt aubergines to drain them of their bitter juices, then pat them dry and fry them in olive oil and garlic to make a delicious companion to pasta. Throw in a handful of torn basil leaves just before serving.
- Oregano, marjoram and thyme – pungent herbs of the hot south – pair happily with fruity olive oil, sharp pecorino or feta cheese and chopped fat black olives.
- Mint flatters peas and plain button mushrooms, both tasty with butter on shorter pastas like farfalle and penne.
- Rosemary, a deeply flavoured herb, needs a partner with a strong character, like pancetta or dry cured bacon to balance it.
But the real pleasure of using herbs in pasta is the ease with which you can conjure dishes of terrific freshness and taste. The time and effort is minimal, yet the heady aroma and scrumptious flavour far surpass many more complex meals.
Go to the next page for 5 great sauce recipes.
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