Seeking No Tomato Pasta Sauce Recipe

Always important to remember that the pasta is "the bread" and that the gravy or sauce is really the heart of the dish.
Simple and plain, or elegant and complex, when you make a pasta dish, in my humble opinion it's what one puts ON the pasta that counts at least as much as the pasta itself.

Fortunately for me, I am indeed a huge tomato fan, but I love all the sauces and gravies, but I can't eat tons of pasta so when I have a pasta dish, more often than not the pasta portion is relatively miniscule and I'm really just there for the toppings!

I spend a lot of time and put in a lot of effort in making my pasta toppings (or sauces/gravies) because it is one of the few things that I DO know how to make well.

Checkerboard Strangler said:

I know, it's amazing and very hard to believe but that is the God's honest truth.
Italians were perplexed and even a little frightened of "the love apple" at first!

But I'm wondering WHY anyway.
Hey Dragonfly, do you just hate maters or are you allergic?

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I think when tomatoes first showed up they thought they were poisonous.

Dragonfly said:

Do you have a killer recipe for a pasta sauce that does NOT use tomatoes or any kind of tomato sauce?

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I got this off of America's test kitchen. A bit more lemon juice and zest is recommended.

Spaghetti al limone

INGREDIENTS
Table salt
1 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus more for serving
1 medium shallot , minced
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons finely grated zest
1/4 cup juice from 2-3 lemons
1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons shredded fresh basil leaves or oregano

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Reserve 1 3/4 cups cooking water, drain pasta into colander, and set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1 1/2 cups of reserved pasta cooking water and cream into pot; bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat, return pasta, and stir until coated. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
3. Cover and let pasta stand 2 minutes, tossing frequently and adjusting consistency with remaining 1/4 cup reserved pasta water if necessary. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling individual portions with extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan cheese.



Pasta with Pancetta, Pepper, and White Wine – Avenue Food
PASTA WITH PANCETTA, PEPPER, AND WHITE WINE
1 pound spaghetti
3 ½-thick slices pancetta (about 1/2 pound total), cut into small chunks(bacon works well with this)
2 minced shallots
½ cup dry white wine
Black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Put pasta water on to boil. In a large sauté pan over fairly low heat, render pancetta in a little olive oil until it’s dark and crisp. Add shallots, sauté a couple of minutes. Add wine and a generous amount of coarsely ground black pepper, simmer for about ten minutes. Boil pasta, adding about 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the pancetta sauce and simmering a few minutes longer. Drain pasta, toss with sauce and parsley. Finish with a sprinkle of cheese


cacio e pepe
Cacio e Pepe
PREPARATION

Mix the grated pecorino romano cheese and a very generous quantity of black pepper freshly grated from the mill in a bowl.

Cook the spaghetti in abundantly salted water following manufacturer’s instructions, tasting for readiness from time to time. Before draining, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta boiling water.

When the spaghetti is al dente (firm but not too soft or overcooked). drain the pasta into a colander, without shaking it too much, to keep the pasta moist.

Pour the pasta into a bowl, top with the cheese, and toss.

Add 1 or more tablespoon of the reserved cooking water. Toss thoroughly. Serve at once.

I make this similar to this version.
https://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/spaghetti-garlic-oil/

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

1/3 cup olive oil, plus more as needed
10 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound spaghetti
½ teaspoon peperoncino
Kosher salt, to taste
½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, shredded
½ cup grated Grana Padano(parmesan works well)



Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and let sizzle until garlic begins to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water once you begin cooking the garlic and give the spaghetti a stir. Once the garlic is golden, add the peperoncino and let toast for a minute, then ladle in 2 cups pasta water. Bring the sauce to a rapid boil. Season with salt based on taste (and how salty your pasta water is).

Once the sauce has reduced by about half and the spaghetti is al dente, scoop the pasta from the water and add to the sauce. Add the parsley. Cook and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce. Off heat, add the basil and grated cheese. Toss, adding a final drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately.This recipe, besides the addition of basil can be transformed into a different sauce without major effort or investment.

Here are some variations. You can add four anchovy fillets when you add the sliced garlic or add ½ cup drained capers when you add the pasta water, or you can add both.

Another version of
Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
https://web.archive.org/web/20100310171230/http://www.parshift.com/ovens/Secrets/secrets051.htm

Dragonfly said:

Do you have a killer recipe for a pasta sauce that does NOT use tomatoes or any kind of tomato sauce?

Care to offer it up?

From insanely simple to somewhat complex, I'll consider them all.


Thanks in advance.
:cheers:

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Got one, although the recipe calls for some tomatoe but I think you could do with out. it's a butternut squash marinara, really good, and packed with beta carotene from the squash.

Cut butternut squash, roast for about 40 min with a whole red pepper (and 3 roma tomatoes if you want tomatoes)

Saute red onion and garlic (1/2 a large onion).

Add ingredients to food processor, tbls of apple cider vinegar, packet of italian seasoning, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp sage, about 6 oz of broth.

blend the ingredients. Add broth if you want the sauce to be thinner.

This is really good https://fitmencook.com/roasted-butternut-squash-marinara/

you can also use butternut squash to make healthy mac and cheese or other cheesy types of recipes without actually having cheese (well, a little bit fo goat cheese and parmesan)

This is another lemony, creamy dairy free sauce that uses coconut milk

https://fitmencook.com/creamy-dairy-free-chicken-pasta/

Sampson Simpson said:

Got one, although the recipe calls for some tomatoe but I think you could do with out. it's a butternut squash marinara, really good, and packed with beta carotene from the squash.

Cut butternut squash, roast for about 40 min with a whole red pepper (and 3 roma tomatoes if you want tomatoes)

Saute red onion and garlic (1/2 a large onion).

Add ingredients to food processor, tbls of apple cider vinegar, packet of italian seasoning, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp sage, about 6 oz of broth.

blend the ingredients. Add broth if you want the sauce to be thinner.

This is really good https://fitmencook.com/roasted-butternut-squash-marinara/

you can also use butternut squash to make healthy mac and cheese or other cheesy types of recipes without actually having cheese (well, a little bit fo goat cheese and parmesan)

This is another lemony, creamy dairy free sauce that uses coconut milk

https://fitmencook.com/creamy-dairy-free-chicken-pasta/

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That reads like butternut squash soup but made thicker so it's not "runny" like soup would be.

Xelor said:

That reads like butternut squash soup but made thicker so it's not "runny" like soup would be.

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The Italian seasoning gives it the marinara taste. Guess that same can be said for marinara with tomatoes, like a thicker tomato soup

Lutherf said:

White clam sauce is awesome and easy.

Saute up some onion in olive oil and white wine. Season with salt, pepper, garlic and crushed red pepper. Add clams, cover, and simmer until the clams open. You can also add canned clams with their juice.

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What Lutherf said.............................................what are you waiting for?

1/2 cp sliced onions sliced from the top down in 1/8" thick slices
1/2 cp sliced celery
1/2 cp carrot shaved with a peeler
*1/2 fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter
1 cp thin sliced marinated steak in 1" X 1/2" pieces
Boil & drain thin spaghetti not vermicelli. Set aside.
Mix 1 tbsp oyster sauce, and 2 tbs hoisin sauce, 2 tsp soy sauce and 1/2 tsp sesame oil
In a skillet over medium heat cook the veggies adding a little white or pink wine for steam. DON"T cook them rather, only heat them thru to remain semi crisp) then remove and saute the steak pieces.
Add all the ingredients including the pasta, salt & pepper in to the saute pan and stir fry over a medium heat for just long enough to mix all the stuff and sauce (30-40 seconds). If you like a little spice add some cayenne pepper.

TheGoverness said:

I honestly can't really eat pasta without some kind of tomato sauce.

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If you ever eat mac and cheese you have eaten pasta without tomato sauce.

americanwoman said:

Melted butter with garlic, salt, and pepper. :2razz:

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I was never a fan of that recipe, however my father loved it to death as did my grandfather great grandfather aunts uncles etc, any family get together usually had what they called buttered noddles, with egg noodles and the ingredients you mention, and there never was leftovers.

beerftw said:

If you ever eat mac and cheese you have eaten pasta without tomato sauce.

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Same with chicken noodle soup.

It's not a sauce necessarily, but slow-simmered garlic in a bunch of olive oil is awesome. Can also fine chop onion or shallots



If the problem is jarred tomato sauces, not tomatoes themselves, you can always use canned peeled san marano tomatoes. I love to use the following with a seafood pasta (usually grilled calamari & grilled shrimp): Canned peeled san marzano tomatoes. Simmer in big pan for ~45 minutes w/ ~40 cloves smashed garlic or as much as you like, a few bay leaves, and some light spices (little bit of onion powder, chili powder, paprika), plus a good amount of olive oil (not necessary though). Then add alfredo sauce or a self-made mix of cheeses.

I haven't measured it but depending on whether I use one or two cans of the tomatoes, it's either 4:1 or 8:1ish, tomato:cheese


Sometimes I also add squid ink.