Tomatoes not required for these five fast pasta sauces

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This article was published 18/11/2020 (2015 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You can almost feel sorry for pasta sauces that are not made with tomatoes. They are ignored, forgotten, belittled. Though endless in variety, they are like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pasta: They don’t get to play any non-tomato pasta-sauce games.

So this week, I decided to take a look at these unsung heroes, the panoply of pasta sauces that are made without tomatoes.

I wanted the sauces I made to be quick and simple, too. Nothing too strenuous; I wanted them to be sauces you could whip up while you are getting the water ready to boil for the pasta.

Non-tomato sauces can be loaded with seafood, vegetables, nuts and herbs; they can be made with olive oil, butter and cream.

But I didn’t want to make my sauces with cream. Though cream is utterly delicious with pasta, it is also a little too easy. More to the point, it has more calories than I wanted to consume — especially considering I was going to be making five different kinds of pasta.

For my first fast and easy tomato-free pasta sauce, I made the fastest and easiest sauce there is. Spaghettini aglio e olio — Spaghettini With Oil and Garlic — is universal throughout Italy; it is perhaps the most comforting of all Italian comfort foods, a simple blend of olive oil, garlic, parsley, crushed red pepper and plenty of salty grated cheese.

According to the famed late cookbook author Marcella Hazan, Spaghettini With Oil and Garlic was created in Rome and quickly spread throughout the country. It was then, and still is now, a hugely popular late-night snack — but it also makes a fine lunch or dinner.

I next made a variation on that same dish, but the variation makes an enormous difference.

One of my favourite pasta sauces is made by dissolving anchovy fillets in hot olive oil. Spaghetti is tossed in the flavoured oil, which gives it a rich and rounded briny taste. Spaghetti With Capers takes that idea and adds a different kind of brininess, this time from capers.

The capers add a pungency to the dish, which is great if you, like me, love capers. But if you find the taste of capers unpleasant, you could leave them out and just make the spaghetti with anchovies.

Both are excellent, and don’t forget to serve them with Parmesan cheese. You might think that a salty cheese would be unnecessary with anchovies and capers, but it brings the flavours together. It is like sprinkling the dish with magic.

The most popular pasta sauce right now among those in the know is probably Cacio e Pepe. Made from cheese (cacio) and pepper (pepe) and very little else (olive oil), the sauce is ridiculously fast and easy to make.

You don’t even cook it. You mix together good cheese — the quality of the cheese counts with this dish — a healthy amount of ground pepper and olive oil. Then you stir in hot, just-cooked pasta and a little bit of the water you cooked it in.

That’s the whole dish. And it could not taste better.

For my next fast tomato-free pasta sauce, I went in a different direction. I went nuts.

Nutty Pasta isn’t even Italian; it is a French dish served most often in Provence. It is pesto with a twist. Instead of basil, it is made with parsley and mint (which is related to basil). Instead of pine nuts alone, it is made with pine nuts and almonds and pistachios.

Think of it: Pine nuts and almonds and pistachios ground together with parsley and mint. Add some olive oil and cheese, and you have something special.

And then there is the matter of the optional orange zest. A light sprinkling of orange zest makes a delightful citrus counterpoint to the richness of the nuts. If you ask me, it shouldn’t even be optional. But no one wants to hear about mandatory orange zest, I suppose.

The last sauce I made was the most complex, but it still takes no more time to make than it does to cook the pasta, if you count the time to bring the water to a boil.

Pappardelle with Broccoli Rabe and Mushrooms has a wonderfully fresh and unspoiled taste. A mixture of mushrooms is sautéed in oil that is flavoured with garlic and fresh rosemary. Broccoli rabe, which is also known as rapini, is boiled separately, and then the wide noodles of pappardelle are cooked in the same broccoli rabe water.

Finally, everything is tossed together: the mushrooms, the broccoli rabe and the pasta, along with an inevitable sprinkling of good cheese. It is a dish that is hearty and satisfying.

Who needs tomatoes?

SPAGHETTINI WITH OIL AND GARLIC (SPAGHETTINI AGLIO E OLIO)

Yield: 6 servings

450 g (1 lb) spaghettini, vermicelli or thin spaghetti
85 ml (5 tbsp) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 to 8 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) crushed red pepper, or more to taste
125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped fresh Italian parsley
250 ml (1 cup) freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, optional

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Stir the spaghettini into the boiling water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently, and cook, semi-covered, until the pasta is tender but still very firm, about 6 minutes for spaghettini or vermicelli and 7 minutes for thin spaghetti.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, shaking the skillet, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and add the crushed red pepper. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta-cooking water into the sauce, then add the parsley, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt to taste, and bring to a boil.

Fish out the pasta with a large wire skimmer or tongs and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. Bring the sauce and pasta to a simmer, tossing to coat pasta with sauce. Cook about 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and toss in the grated cheese, if using. Check the seasoning, adding salt and crushed red pepper if necessary. Serve immediately in warm bowls.

Per serving: 443 calories; 17 g fat; 4 g saturated fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 15 g protein; 58 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 234 mg sodium; 196 mg calcium

Adapted from Lidia’s Favorite Recipes by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali

 

LEMON PASTA

340 g (12 oz) egg noodles
2 lemons
250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
Salt and pepper

Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the noodles. Cook according to package directions until tender. Drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, remove the zest from 1 lemon and cut into thin strips about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long. Juice both lemons. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, add the zest, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, about 2 minutes. Pour this sauce over the cooked noodles, add the lemon juice, and cook, stirring, until all of the liquid is absorbed. Taste, and add more salt and especially pepper, if desired.

 

CACIO E PEPE

Yield: 6 servings

450 g (1 lb) pasta, your choice
Salt
250 ml (1 cup) grated Pecorino Romano, plus more as needed for serving
125 ml (1/2 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
10 ml (2 tsp) black pepper, plus more if needed

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and stir to submerge and separate the pieces. Cook uncovered until the pasta is just tender (al dente), according to the instructions on the package. Reserve about 125 ml (1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water for finishing your sauce.

Drain the pasta in a colander. Pour the drained pasta into a heated serving bowl. Add the cheese, oil and pepper. Stir until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Add about 60 ml (1/4 cup) of the reserved cooking water to moisten the pasta slightly — it should appear creamy, not oily. If necessary, add a bit more of the pasta water.

Taste, and stir in more pepper if needed (pepper should be one of the main flavours). Serve immediately, with additional cheese on the side.

Per serving: 589 calories; 30 g fat; 9g saturated fat; 39 mg cholesterol; 22 g protein; 58 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 3 g fibre 935 mg sodium; 422 mg calcium

Adapted from Pasta by Gianni Scappin, Alberto Vanoli and Francesco Tonelli

 

PAPPARDELLE WITH BROCCOLI RABE AND MUSHROOMS

Yield: 4 servings
45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 sprig rosemary, about 10 cm (4 inches) long
340 g (12 oz) mushrooms, preferably a variety, sliced
1 bunch of broccoli rabe (also called rapini), trimmed of tough stems
340 g (12 oz) dried pappardelle or dried egg fettucine
125 ml (1/2 cup) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook until the garlic is fragrant and the rosemary starts to sizzle, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to brown, about 10 minutes; shake the pan and stir often. Remove from the heat and keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the broccoli rabe and set aside (keep the water boiling). Add the pasta to the same boiling water and cook until al dente, according to the instructions on the package. Drain the pasta, leaving a little water clinging to it.

Add the pasta, broccoli rabe and cheese to the skillet with the mushrooms and toss together. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve.

Per serving: 474 calories; 15 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; 7 mg cholesterol; 17 g protein; 67 g carbohydrate; 5 g sugar; 4 g fibre; 216 mg sodium; 144 mg calcium

Recipe from The Rose Pistola Cookbook by Reed Hearon and Peggy Knickerbocker

 

SPAGHETTI WITH CAPERS

Yield: 4 servings

60 ml (4 tbsp) olive oil
2 or 3 anchovy fillets
2 garlic cloves, peeled but whole
30 ml (2 tbsp) capers, rinsed
340 g (12 oz) spaghetti

Heat the oil in a pan, add the anchovy and garlic, and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the anchovies have dissolved and the garlic has turned golden brown. This will take several minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, discard the garlic and add the capers. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain, toss with the sauce and serve.

Per serving: 469 calories; 17 g fat; 3 g saturated fat; 12 mg cholesterol; 15 g protein; 64 g carbohydrate; 2 g sugar; 3 g fibre; 627 mg sodium; 55 mg calcium

Adapted from The Silver Spoon, which has no listed author

 

NUTTY PASTA

Yield: 6 servings

56 g (2 oz) almonds
56 g (2 oz) pine nuts
56 g (2 oz) shelled pistachios
Leaves from 1 bunch parsley
Leaves from 1 bunch mint
340 g (12 oz) spaghetti
45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
Parmesan cheese, for grating
Zest from 1/2 orange, optional

Put the almonds, pine nuts, pistachio, parsley and mint into a food processor and chop until fine but not completely pulverized — it should still have a bit of texture.

Cook the spaghetti in boiling water until al dente, according to the package directions. Drain. Toss with the nut paste, olive oil, cheese and zest, if using. Serve immediately.

Per serving: 385 calories; 16 g fat; 2 g saturated fat; 1 g cholesterol; 13 g protein; 50 g carbohydrate; 3 g sugar; 5 g fibre; 30 mg sodium; 73 g calcium

Adapted from French Taste by Laura Calder

— St. Louis Post-Dispatch