Red Pasta Sauce
Usually I make my red sauce from scratch but there have been occasions I did not have any canned tomatoes in the pantry but a jar of red pasta sauce. There are so many red pasta sauces in your grocery store that it is hard to decide which one to buy. Most are good, but some lack a little flavor. So to get that taste I want, I spruce them up a little. With adding a little “this and that”, your bland sauce is suddenly the hit for that pasta dish you had in mind. Give it a try!
“This and That”:
- 1 jar of red pasta sauce
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup carrots, chopped
- 1/4 cup celery, thinly sliced
- 2 gloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp. fennel seed
- salt & pepper to taste
- fresh cooked or leftover pasta
In a medium size pot and heat up the olive oil. Add the onion, carrots, celery and the garlic and cook over medium-high heat for 12-14 minutes or until carrots and celery are soft. Give it an occasional stir. Let’s turn the heat down to a simmer and crack some pepper over the mixture, about a 1/2 teaspoon. Stir and let simmer for another 2 minutes.
Now we will add the red pasta cause. I am using a jar of Tomato Basil Sauce, but you can use whatever kind you have. Add the thyme, parsley, fennel seed and stir the sauce. Let simmer for 30 minutes but make sure the sauce is not bubbling. Taste with salt and pepper.
Mix in your choice of fresh cooked or leftover pasta. Enjoy!