Mascarpone and tomato sauce

With most mid-week dinners, we look for speed paired with flavour while managing the purse strings a little too if possible.

Pasta is always a great go to, whether its freshly made, dried (Italian brands), or an egg based range from your local supermarket fridge, it is a staple that the UK has chosen to love and embrace as their own. That said, I would always urge you to search out a different shape where possible. No more penne, farfalle, or spaghetti. Try something a little edgy that has interesting groves and dimensions to it as these grooves and dents become the carrier of your delicious sauce.

If time was against me (and it always tends to be at the moment) and I’m not making the pasta freshly by hand, these would be my favourite options:

*Mezze maniche – Similar to rigatoni but half the size.

* Trofie – A twisted pasta from Liguria. Delicious with green beans, pesto and potatoes.

*Casarecce – Originates from Sicily, this pasta maybe short but due to the internal groove it carries sauce wonderfully.

*Bucatini – An absolute favourite. A cylindrical spaghetti, a little thick with a hole that runs directly through the centre. Anything goes with these leggy beauties!

*Mafalde – Also known as Reginette, these are long flat strands with frilly edges. Perfect with tomato or cream-based sauces.

As Italian cookery is simple, fresh and generally treated as a seasonal diet, it is essential that the quality of the chosen ingredients are the best that you can afford. From great quality dried pasta to the best Extra Virgin Olive Oil, tinned tomatoes or a wonderfully aged Parmigiano Reggiano. These quality components will make your dish truly stand out.

Now that you’ve chosen your pasta, lets make the sauce. Now the first thing to mention is that mascarpone is a great cheese that is not only universal but it freezes very well too, meaning that it doesn’t split like ricotta has a tendency

too. So, when mascarpone is on offer, grab an extra one and pop it in the deep freeze for easy access.

TOMATOES: Let us talk about tinned tomatoes for a moment. Quality here is paramount and I will let you make your own decisions here as price is very much a focus, but you are always best to steer clear from standard chopped tomatoes as they tend to be incredibly watery and are full of firm odds and ends of various tomatoes. Either use passata, tinned cherry tomatoes or pelati (plum) tomatoes and break these up yourself with either your hands, a potato masher or a food processor or blender. I have to say that tinned cherry tomatoes are most definitely one of my staples and the budget supermarkets have their own versions which are fantastic at a fraction of the cost.

Sauce time! Now fall in love with one of my favourite sauces.

Mascarpone and tomato sughetto

Course sauce

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Creamy mascarpone and tomato sauce, Mascarpone and tomato sauce, Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta Sauce, tomato and mascarpone soup

Servings 3 People

Ingredients

1 Large 1 large banana shallot You could use a small onion
1 Stick Celery This adds crunch and texture
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Large clove of garlic. Try and keep the garlic in the skin if possible.
400 g Tin Mutti tomato polpa
½ Tub Mascarpone
40 g Parmigiano Reggiano grated
Pinch Dried oregano
Pinch Dried chilli flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to season
1 Small Lemon Zest only
Basil leaves

Instructions

1. Peel the shallots and chop it into tiny pieces along with the celery.
2. Add the chopped shallot and celery to a sauté pan along with the extra virgin olive oil and soften the vegetables for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the whole garlic to the pan and fry off for 2 minutes.
4. Add the polpa tomatoes and rinse out the can with 50ml of water.
5. Spoon in the mascarpone and allow it to melt into the tomato sauce.
6. Sprinkle in the Parmigiano Reggiano along with the oregano, chilli flakes, salt, pepper, lemon zest and basil leaves.
7. Cook for 15 minutes and serve with your chosen pasta.
8. Adjust the seasoning as required to suit your personal taste.

Notes

Carmela’s Kitchen: If the sauce thickens up a little too much, ladle in a little of the pasta water to loosen the sauce, this will also help to emulsify the sauce.