With a little retooling, jarred sauce can help create a quick, delicious meal.
Photo: Freerangestock.com
When running short on time or energy, a pasta with a jarred spaghetti sauce can be a lifesaver. Jarred sauce, however, usually tastes like, well, jarred sauce. Here are a few quick tips on taking that plain jar of sauce and turning it into something a little more special, with only an added minute or two to your cooking!
- Microwave “roast” a head of garlic to throw in. Simply cut about 1/4 of an inch away from the top of the garlic head. Drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil and place it, cut side up on a piece of paper towel that sits on a microwave plate. Cook on high for one minute. Turn the head over, so that the cut side is down, and cook for one more minute. Gently squeeze (be careful, it’s hot). The garlic inside the head should be soft. If not, put it back in for another 30 seconds. When it’s soft enough to squeeze the garlic out of the head, squeeze into your pasta sauce and stir. This will impart a delicious, subtle taste of garlic to your dish.
- Add a red wine. While you pan of sauce is over medium-high heat, add about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of wine (depending on how much sauce is being heated). Let the sauce simmer down while you cook your pasta. Use a decent, inexpensive wine that you would drink. Adding wine to a quick sauce will make it taste like it’s been cooking all day.
- Add fresh herbs. If you have herbs on hand, on a window sill, in a garden, or in your fridge, add a small handful of them roughly chopped to your sauce right before serving. Parsley, oregano (go lighter with this potent herb), basil all work well with marinara. A bit of thyme or a dried bay leaf will work in a pinch as well.
- Toss in some browned Italian sausage. Whether you use pork or chicken, Italian sausage can really boost the flavor of canned sauce. Simply brown the links whole in a tablespoon of olive oil. When it’s good and brown, remove to paper towels to drain off some of the oil, cut into slices, and add into your sauce. If you notice the sausage isn’t cooked all the way through, don’t worry. Simple bring the heat to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and let it finish cooking right in the sauce. It was help the flavor along and really incorporate into the sauce.
- Add a sprinkle of real Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the top of the finished dish. Real Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano, as opposed to domestic Parmesan, deepens the flavor of any dish that it’s added to.
With a few simple steps, you can create a meal that is better than just quick. It can be quick and delicious.
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