A good sauce is smooth, glossy, and full of flavor: rich but never greasy. It can be added to fish, meats, poultry, vegetables, rice and pasta. Pasta sauce can be very simple or most elaborate, but it's always tasty.

Start by heating abundant water to cook the pasta; spaghetti or tagliatelle. Then saut 4 pieces of garlic in 3 Tbsp olive oil to make pasta Aglio e Olio, it can be enjoyed just like this with some grated cheese, or for a more elaborate dish add 12 clams, 4 shrimps and 6 blue shell mussels, all sauted in their shells, deglaze the pan with white wine and you have Salsa alle Vongole in Bianco!

Probably the best known of Italian sauces is tomato. To make Salsa di Pomodoro Fresco (fresh Tomato Sauce): Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and fry 1 medium-sized yellow onion, 2 cloves of peeled garlic, 1 medium carrot, 1 rib celery all finely chopped, for 6-7 minutes, do not allow to brown. Taste the tomatoes for sweetness - add a little sugar if necessary, add 2 lbs fresh tomatoes cut small and a handful of chopped flat parsley and simmer for 10 minutes. Traditionalists will cook it for 90 minutes or more - I think this detracts from the fresh tomato flavours. Season with salt and pepper and if you like a velvety sauce pass it through a blender or a mouli food mill. Add 5 fresh basil leaves torn in half, and simmer for 2 minutes. Put half the sauce into a sauceboat or serving dish after swirling in 1 tspn butter. Mix the pasta into the rest of the sauce in the pan. Offer the sauceboat at the table along with grated Parmesan cheese.

Sugo di Funghi (Mushroom) sauce: Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and 4 chopped garlic cloves, cook slowly for 3 minutes. Add1 cup sliced mushrooms - button, field, champignon, or porcini, and cook for 8 minutes. Add 1 chopped onion and 1 can tomatoes in juice, and the herbs; thyme, basil, chervil marjoram, and tspn of crushed red pepper (mild chilli), salt, pepper and (optionally) a small glass of Marsala dessert wine. Cook for 5 minutes, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over Fettuccine, linguine or tagliatelle.

Ragu Bolognese (meat sauce): Gently fry 2 rashers of coarsely chopped bacon and chopped vegetables; 1 carrot, 1 stick celery, 2 white onions, 3 cloves garlic, cook for 5 minutes. Add 8 ozs (or more) minced beef, veal, pork or a mixture of them, cook and stir well for 3 minutes to let the meats colour. Add 1 cup wine and cook for 5 minutes allowing the wine to evaporate. Add 1 Tbsp tomato paste stir well. Add seasoning, 1 clove minced garlic, cook on low for 20 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp cream and grated nutmeg stir well and cook for 1 minute then pour a generous helping over each plate of pasta. Add a touch of good virgin olive oil and serve with a fork and a large spoon. Good for ribbon or short pasta; Farfalle (bow ties), fusilli (corkscrews), or al forno dishes (oven baked).

This vegetarian dish is cooked in stages. Mezze Maniche al Cavolfiore (pasta with cauliflower sauce): Cook 1 cauliflower separated into florets in enough boiling salted water to cover, for 3 minutes, drain and toss with some melted butter, set aside. Fry strips of red capsicum (Bell pepper) in olive oil, for 2 minutes set aside. Put 1 carton (cup) heavy cream in a saucepan, and reduce by half. Add herbs; basil, tarragon and the zest of 1 lemon, set aside. Saut 2 large chopped tomatoes, 2 large clove of garlic for 3 minutes, add the cauliflower, cup chopped hazelnuts, the peppers, chopped chilli, cream, pasta and herbs and abundant grated Parmesan. Toss well. I like to vary this by adding a few anchovy fillets in oil.

Food Column

(HK Edition 07/09/2011 page4)