Sauces for Fresh Pasta
Cooking Skills: Pasta 2
Chapter 8 · Sauces for Fresh Pasta
Skill goal
Make a light sauce that suits delicate fresh pasta.
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
Fresh pasta is soft, tender and delicate, and a heavy sauce hides it. The best sauces are light, simple and don't need hours: butter, a fresh herb paste, or a quick tomato sauce. They should coat the pasta, not drown it.
| Sauce style | Why it suits fresh pasta | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Butter-based | Coats the soft surface evenly | Butter and sage, lemon butter (chapter 4) |
| Raw paste | Fresh and bright; just warmed by the pasta | Pesto, walnut sauce |
| Quick tomato | Light, not stewed | Cherry tomatoes and basil |
| Slow ragù | Rich and thick; needs a wide ribbon like pappardelle | Chapter 1, lasagne in chapter 7 |
- Always finish in the pan with a splash of the starchy pasta water, as in Cooking Skills: Pasta 1.
- Make the sauce first (or while the water heats). Fresh pasta cooks in 2 or 3 minutes.
- Less sauce than you think. Fresh pasta soaks some up.
Try it
Level 1 · Start here
Butter and sage
Three ingredients and the right timing. Butter turns golden, then nutty, then burnt, in about a minute, so watch it.
Ingredients (1 portion)
- 100 g fresh tagliatelle (the 1-egg dough from chapter 1) or 125 g shop-bought fresh pasta
- 40 g butter
- 6 sage leaves
- 15 g parmesan, grated
- 1 pinch black pepper
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Put the pasta in, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile melt the butter over a medium-low heat. Add the sage and cook, swirling, for 2 to 3 minutes, until the butter smells nutty and turns light golden brown, and the sage leaves are crisp.
- Scoop out a mugful of pasta water. Drain, add the pasta to the butter with 2 tablespoons of the water, and toss for 30 seconds.
- Finish with the parmesan and pepper.
A lighter version
Use 15 g of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil, with 3 tablespoons of pasta water. It is less rich and still glossy.
Level 2 · Fresh
Pesto from scratch in a mortar
Pesto means 'pounded'. A mortar crushes the leaves instead of chopping them, which gives a creamier, less bitter sauce than a blender.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 30 g basil leaves
- 1 small garlic clove
- 20 g pine nuts
- 30 g parmesan, finely grated
- 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch coarse sea salt
- 100 g fresh tagliatelle (the 1-egg dough from chapter 1) or 125 g shop-bought fresh pasta
- Put the garlic and salt in the mortar and pound to a paste. Add the pine nuts and pound to a rough paste.
- Add the basil a few leaves at a time, grinding against the side with a circular motion until you have a green paste.
- Stir in the cheese and then the oil, a little at a time.
- Boil the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes. Scoop out a mugful of water, drain, and toss with 2 tablespoons of pesto and 2 tablespoons of the water, off the heat, so the basil stays green. Keep the rest of the pesto, covered in oil, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Allergy note
Pesto contains nuts (pine nuts, and walnuts in the next recipe), milk and, for the bought kind, sometimes other allergens. If you're cooking for someone else, tell them.
Level 2 · Creamy
Walnut sauce
Walnuts and soaked bread give a creamy sauce without any cream. Soaking the walnuts in hot water for a few minutes and peeling the thin skin makes it less bitter.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 60 g walnut halves
- 1 slice white bread, crusts off, soaked in 3 tbsp milk
- 1 small garlic clove
- 30 g parmesan, grated
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 100 g fresh tagliatelle (the 1-egg dough from chapter 1) or 125 g shop-bought fresh pasta
- Cover the walnuts with boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and rub off as much of the skin as you can.
- Blend or pound the walnuts, squeezed bread, garlic, parmesan and oil into a rough paste, loosening with a spoonful of milk if too thick. Season.
- Boil the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes, scoop out a mugful of water and drain. Toss with the sauce and 3 tablespoons of water until creamy.
Level 1 · Light
Light tomato and basil
Fresh pasta doesn't need a heavy sauce. Ripe cherry tomatoes cooked for only a few minutes give a bright, light coating.
Ingredients (2 portions)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, sliced
- 250 g ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 basil leaves
- 100 g fresh tagliatelle (the 1-egg dough from chapter 1) or 125 g shop-bought fresh pasta
- Warm the oil with the garlic in a wide pan for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and salt, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until they burst and make a juicy sauce.
- Boil the pasta for 2 to 3 minutes, scoop out a mugful of water and drain.
- Toss the pasta in the sauce with 2 tablespoons of the water for 30 seconds. Tear in the basil.
Experiments
Experiment
Brown butter stages
When is it right?
- Melt three small knobs of butter. Take one off the heat when just melted, one when golden and nutty (about 3 minutes) and one when dark brown (about 5).
- Taste each on a piece of bread.
Look for: The first is mild, the second is the best (sweet and nutty), the last tastes bitter and burnt. The window is short.
Experiment
Mortar or blender
Pounded or blitzed?
- Make pesto in a mortar and again in a small blender, using the same ingredients.
- Taste both on pasta.
Look for: The blender gives a smoother, sometimes hotter and slightly bitter pesto. The mortar is creamier but takes longer. A pulse blender with ice-cold ingredients gets close.
Experiment
Pasta water
How much?
- Toss the same pesto and pasta with no water, 2 tablespoons and 5 tablespoons of the cooking water.
- Compare the texture.
Look for: No water: clumpy and dry. Two tablespoons: glossy and coating. Five: thin and runny.
Experiment
Sauce amount
How much is enough?
- Dress 100 g of fresh pasta with 1, 2 and 4 tablespoons of sauce.
Look for: The first is under-dressed, the last drowns the pasta. A coating that clings without pooling is right.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter and sage | ||||
| Pesto | ||||
| Walnut sauce | ||||
| Tomato and basil | ||||
| Butter stages | ||||
| Mortar vs blender | ||||
| Pasta water | ||||
| Sauce amount |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Butter burnt | Heat too high, or left too long | Use a medium-low heat and watch it; start again |
| Pesto bitter | Over-blended, or old oil | Pound, or pulse briefly; use fresh olive oil |
| Pesto dark | Heated, or air | Toss off the heat; cover with oil |
| Walnut sauce bitter | Skins left on, or stale nuts | Peel the walnuts; use fresh |
| Sauce clumpy | No pasta water | Add water a spoonful at a time |
| Pasta stuck together | Left to stand after draining | Go straight into the sauce |
Food safety: raw and fresh sauces
Pesto and walnut sauce are uncooked, so use fresh basil, wash the leaves, and keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Fresh garlic in oil can be a botulism risk if kept at room temperature, so don't store garlic-in-oil outside the fridge. The dough contains raw egg and raw flour. The Food Standards Agency advises against eating or tasting uncooked flour or dough, because raw flour is not treated to kill bacteria such as E. coli. Don't taste the dough or any filling that contains raw egg, wash your hands, the board and your tools after handling raw dough, and use Lion-marked eggs. Cook fresh pasta thoroughly. Pregnant women, children under 5, people aged 65 and over, and anyone with a weakened immune system should be especially careful.Cooked pasta is a starchy food, and like rice it can grow bacteria if it is left warm. There is no pasta-specific official guidance, so this course uses the cautious rule: cool it quickly (within about an hour), put it in the fridge, and eat it within 24 hours; freeze it if you won't. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.
Checkpoint: can you do this now?
- I can make brown butter without burning it.
- I can make pesto in a mortar.
- I can make a walnut sauce.
- I know why fresh pasta suits a light sauce.
- I always finish pasta in the pan with its water.
Next chapter
Cooking Skills: Pasta 2, chapter 9 is Putting It Together: a pasta-making afternoon, a make-ahead dinner, freezing and drying, and your skills table.