My pasta sauce is boring......any ideas?
 

Just finished making a pasta sauce for tonight's dinner. I make it as my wife says mine is better than hers. I always make it the same and although it's well received by those who have tried it.....for me it's becoming a bit boring. I admit I'm not a great pasta lover anyway.......maybe that's because of the sauce?
So....for a change how about sharing your favourite recipe so I can give it a try?

My sauce consists of.
Finely chopped onions,red pepper and garlic.fried off in some Virgin olive oil. I then add some red wine and reduce......a large jar of pulped tomatoes and some fresh oregano goes in to finish it off.

My standard sauce is Bolognese so maybe you should try that.

Firstly, you're probably not including enough garlic. Second, try a few added vegies - minced carrots and finely chopped celery add flavor. Seasoning? Supplement the oregano with a couple bay leaves and simmer longer. Other suggestions: marjoram, thyme, basil. And, how about some pancetta?

I like to add a bag of frozen peas to my sauce for the last 20 minutes of simmer. Also top generously with fresh grated or shaved Parmasean/Regianno cheese right off the block once pasta sauce is deployed atop pasta.

Enjoy!

Switch out the red peppers for a fine mirapoix

Definitely mirapoix, and a bay leaf.

finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and red wine are a must. I'll generally add red bell pepper and grated mushrooms as well.

Just before serving I remove the bay leaf and take an immersion blender to it :)

Or there is the obvious answer... add bacon!

I add italian sausage or ground meat to mine.

Anchovies, capers, olives (in addition to the above-mentioned suggestions).

I've never thought mirepoix goes with Italian, but I guess it's popular.

What's a mirapoix?

I should have mentioned that we stay in the middle of the pampas so acquiring some of the ingredients mentioned isn't that easy without a 100 mile trip to Buenos Aires. :D

Any other recipes apart from the basic tomato sauce?

Dice some good thick pancetta or guanciale (available at Italian markets) and add it your chopped red chili peppers. Let it sweat a little in the olive oil for awhile. Here is a good recipe: I often make this.
http://www.cook-italian.com/weblog/2...na-recipe.html

You should check out this site - it's super helpful for cooking questions, and tons of other stuff:

http://LetMeGoogleThatForYou.com/?q=mirepoix

Might I suggest a touch of hot sauce? I'm partial to Marie Sharp's habanero sauce.

Love Marie Sharp's products - sometimes difficult to find, though. Much more flavor than your typical hot sauce, which is often just dominated by salty/vinegar/burn...

Anchovy for a touch of umami. Makes a remarkable difference.

For about 3 quarts of sauce I add 1 lb. ground turkey well browned and very finely crumbled and 1 lb. sauteed sliced mushrooms. De-glaze the frying pan with a small amount of red wine and add that. I also fire mine up with a generous amount of ground Thai chilis or similar, but it is too hot for many folks.