Vegetable-Based Pasta Sauces
Most of these sauces
will also work very well with gnocchi or
polenta. The categories aren't hard-and-fast, but
should help you find what you're looking for. Notes on cooking and serving pasta.
A note: Most of these are vegetarian. However, some do
include meat (generally pancetta or cured lard), which serves as a flavoring
agent in addition to providing fat. If you do not eat meat, substitute for it
with olive oil. The recipe won't be quite the same but will still be tasty.
Though some of the recipes really do require the cheese they call for -- pesto
sauce, for example -- most can also be made vegan by omitting it as well as the
meat they may call for.
Standbys
Boscaiola Sauce: Pappardelle alla
Boscaiola
Pasta with a rich, satisfying wild mushroom sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Carrettiera Sauce: Pasta alla
Carrettiera
Tomatoes and garlic, quickly cooked. Tasty!
Difficulty: Easy
Marinara Sauce: Salsa alla Marinara
A classic sauce, with some excellent variations.
Difficulty:
Easy
Neapolitan Tomato Sauce: Salsa di Pomodoro alla
Napoletana
A quick, tasty, simple tomato sauce perfect for
summer or pizza.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta Primavera: Eliche o Fusilli
Primavera
A rich spring recipe with artichokes, peas, and
asparagus.
Difficulty: Moderate
Pasta Primavera: Paste all'Ortolano
Greengrocer's sauce, with zucchini and artichokes, among other things.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta Primavera 2: Paste all'Ortolano
#2
From a different greengrocer, with eggplant and bell
peppers, among other things. But just as tasty.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta Primavera 3
A version with
bell peppers, onions, and broccoli florets.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta Primavera 4
Zucchini based
this time, and creamy too, with some tomato.
Difficulty: Easy
Penne All'Arrabbiata
A richer
version of the signature dish of many Roman trattorie, with tomatoes, pancetta
and onions.
Difficulty: Easy
Penne with Vodka Sauce: Penne alla
Vodka
A quick, creamy tomato sauce with a special something
added.
Difficulty: Easy
Puttanesca Sauce: Sugo alla
Puttanesca
Tomatoes, black olives, capers combine to make the
perfect zesty summer sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Rosey Penne: Penne Rosé
Tomato & Cream: Quick, light and tasty -- ideal for unexpected company.
Difficulty: Easy
Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce: Spaghetti al
Pesto
A Ligurian classic that's perfect for summer.
Difficulty: Easy
Tomato Sauce: Pomarola
Tomato
sauce: One of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine year round, and very fine
over pasta during the summer. This particular version is Tuscan, and relatively
long-cooking.
Difficulty: Easy
Sauces by kind of
vegetable or herb:
Artichoke | Basil (or
Herbs)| Broccoli, Cabbages, and other Greens |Eggplant | Lemons | Mixtures,
Medleys, and Unusual Things |Mushrooms | Tomato | Bell Pepper | Zucchini
Artichoke Pesto
An unusual
variation on the classic Ligurian sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Cork Screws with Artichokes: Fusilli al
Carciofo
Cork screws with an unusual, refreshing artichoke
sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Lined Mezze Maniche with Artichokes: Mezze
Maniche Rigate ai Carciofi
A tasty, chunky artichoke sauce is
the perfect thing with tubular pasta.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with Prosciutto, Potatoes, and Fried
Artichokes: Reginette con Prosciutto Crudo, Patate e Carciofi
Fritti
Fried artichokes add unusual texture and rich flavor
to this pasta sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Penne with Artichokes and Saffron: Penne Con
Carciofi e Zafferano
Arichokes work quite nicely with
saffron.
Difficulty: Easy
Tortiglioni with Artichokes: Tortiglioni ai
Carciofi
A tasty artichoke pasta sauce to herald lengthening
days.
Difficulty: Easy
Green Sauce: Al Verde Sauce
A
quck, tasty green sauce for pasta that can be made in bulk and has many other
uses as well.
Difficulty: Easy
Green Spaghetti: Spaghetti Verdi
A refreshing summer sauce, with lots of celery in a smooth pesto base.
Difficulty: Easy
Green Spaghetti with a Three Cheese Sauce:
Spaghetti Verdi ai Tre Formaggi
Lots of greens and cheese
make for an extremely delicate sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Parsley Cream Sauce: Capellini con Crema di
Prezzemolo
Fine-stranded pasta with a tasty parsley cream
sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with a Richly Aromatic Egg Sauce
Hard boiled eggs blended with all sorts of herbs: Quite tasty
and perfect in summer.
Difficulty: Easy
Pici with Garlic Sauce: Pici
all'Aglione
Astonishingly zesty garlic-laced pasta from
Southern Tuscany.
Difficulty: Easy
Tagliolini with Pesto and Almonds: Tagliolini al
Pesto con Mandorle
A tasty variation on a Ligurian standby,
pasta and vegetables seasoned with pesto sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Trenette with Pesto Sauce: Trenette col
Pesto
Similar to spaghetti al pesto, but with the addition of
string beans and potatoes to the pasta. Very nice, and healthy too.
Difficulty: Easy
Curried Cauliflower
Curry is
fairly rare in Italy, but you do come across it, especially with cauliflower.
This can also be made into a tasty pasta sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Lined Elbow Macaroni with Peas: Gomiti Rigati
con Piselli
One generally thinks of peas as a side dish, or
with rice -- Veince's famed Risi e Bisi. However, they're delightful with pasta
too!
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, and Raisins:
Pasta con Cavolfiore, Pinole e Uvetta
A tasty, very traditional
recipe from Bea's Mom.
Difficulty: Easy
Orecchiette with Broccoli: Orecchiette coi
Broccoletti
Broccoli and salted ricotta go very well together
in this sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe: Collard
Greens: Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa
Classic, zesty, and
quick.
Difficulty: Easy
Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sardines:
Orecchiette e Broccoli Rapa con Alice Salata
Broccoli rabe
and salted fish are an inspired combination.
Difficulty: Easy
Orecchiette with Broccoli and Sauteed Lard:
Orecchiette e Broccoli di Cavolo con Lardo Soffritto
A very
traditional pasta sauce, with lard to provide a counterpoint to the broccoli.
Difficulty: Easy
Popeye's Penne: Penne alla Braccio di
Ferro
Popeye's Penne: A tasty cream-and-spinach based
outgrowth of Nouvelle Cuisine.
Difficulty: Easy
Spaghetti coi Piselli
A fine,
quick summery pasta sauce that deftly plays the sweetness of the peas off the
savory richness of pancetta.
Difficulty: Easy
Tagliatelle with Chicory, Rosemary and Pecorino
Romano
Quick and a deligtful green color.
Difficulty:
Easy
Cork Screws with Bell Peppers and Eggplant:
Fusilli con Peperoni e Melanzane
Fusilli with eggplant in a
bell pepper sauce.
Difficulty: Moderate
Penne with Eggplant: Penne alle
Melanzane
Penne with a tasty eggplant sauce, from Lazio.
Difficulty: Easy
Riccioli Amalfitani with Eggplant and
Mozzarella: Riccioli Amalfitani con Melanzane e Mozzarella
Riccioli are shaped like curls, and they work quite nicely with a rich,
chunky eggplant and mozzarella sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Trenette with Eggplant: Trenette con le
Melanzane
Another Ligurian specialty, trenette (thin
linguine) with eggplant and pesto sauce. And again, quite healthy.
Difficulty: Easy
Lemony Pasta Salad: Insalata di Pasta Profumata
al Limone
A tasty lemony pasta salad with plenty of tuna,
which makes it a meal by itself (or with a green salad)
Difficulty:
Easy
Lemony Vermicelli: Vermicelli al
Limone
A lemon sauce is delightfully refreshing when it's
hot.
Difficulty: Easy
Linguine with Lemons and Ginger: Linguine al
Limone e allo Zenzero
An intriguing, very refreshing pasta
sauce made with lemon and ginger root.
Difficulty: Easy
Short Penne with a Lemon and Pea Sauce: Mezze
Penne al Limone e Piselli
Short penne with a tasty, lemony pea
sauce: A perfect summer dish.
Difficulty: Easy
Mixtures, Medleys, and Unusual Things
Bowties with Almonds, String beans, Feta and
Tomatoes: Farfalle con Mandorle, Fagiolini, Feta e Pomodori
A
tasty pasta salad that gains zest from feta cheese, richness from almonds, and
balance from string beans.
Difficulty: Easy
Corkscrews with Vegetables and Mozzarella:
Fusilli Con Verdura e Mozzarella
Grilled vegetables have a
spicy tang that blends quite nicely with mozzarella's richness.
Difficulty:
Easy
Fake Sauce: Sugo Finto
A quick
Roman sauce with tomatoes, herbs and just a bit of prosciutto fat -- essential
to Supplí al telefono, but a good pasta sauce too.
Difficulty:
Easy
Fake Sauce: Sugo Finto
When
Tuscans leave the meat out of sugo, they call it finto, which means fake. It's
a summer thing and remarkably good.
Difficulty: Easy
Fresh Bean Medley Mantua Style: Fagioli Freschi
alla Mantovana
A tasty bean-based vegetable medley that will
also make a good pasta sauce if you don't cook all the water out of it.
Difficulty: Easy
La Genovese
A rich Neapolitan
onion-and-meat based sauce for pasta that has nothing to do with Genova, but is
very good.
Difficulty: Moderate-Intermediate.
Greengrocer's Gigli: Gigli ai Sapori
dell'Orto
Gigli are a pasta shape, and here they're served
with a quick, simple zucchin and carrot sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Hot Pepper Penne with a Zesty Sauce: Penne al
Peperoncino con Salsa Piccante
Among the flavored pastas, hot
pepper pasta is perhaps the most popular, and it works very well with this
zesty caper and anchovy sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Orecchiette with Olives: Orecchiette con le
Olive
With a tasty black olive and tomato sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta Salad with Grilled Vegetables: Insalata di
Pasta con Verdure Grigliate
Grilled vegetables make for an
extraordinarily satisfying pasta salad.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta Snails with Olives: Chiocciole Saltate
Alle Olive
A quick, tasty vegetable sauce you can whip up while
the pasta water is heating.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with Sardines: Pasta Cu li
Sardi
Sicily's classic signature sauce features an unusual
combination of sardines and fennel, all laced with pine nuts and raisins.
Difficulty: Moderate-Intermediate
Penne with Onions: Penne alla
Cipolla
A creamy onion sauce for pasta.
Difficulty:
Easy
Tagliatelle with Leeks and Ricotta: Tagliatelle
Con Porri e Ricotta
Italians often add vegetables to the
pasta water -- in this case potatoes, with a leek-and-ricotta
sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Tagliatelle with Peas, or Tajadele Coi Bisi
The Veneto is known for risi e bisi, rice and peas, and
tagliatelle with peas are just as good.
Difficulty: Easy
Cork Screws with Chantarelles and Lentils:
Fusilli Con Finferli e Lenticchie
Lentils work beautifully
with chantarels or other wild mushrooms in this sauce.
Difficulty:
Easy
Fettuccine with Mushrooms: Fettuccine ai
Funghi
Fettuccine in a tasty sauce with a variety of woodsy
mushrooms, delicatley flavored with herbs.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce: Pasta coi
Funghi
A rich, creamy mushroom sauce that's quick too.
Difficulty: Easy
Penne with Mushrooms and String Beans: Penne con
Funghi e Fagiolini
A tasty sauce with, mushrooms, green
beans, and some tomato to give them body.
Difficulty: Easy
Penne with Porcini Mushrooms: Penne ai Funghi
Porcini
Putter and sage is perfect with this
mushroom-flavored commercially made pasta.
Difficulty: Easy
Pizzoccheri with Porcini, Savoy cabbage, and
sage: Pizzoccheri con Porcini e Verza alla Salvia
A classic
mountain sauce with mushrooms, which gain substance from Savoy
cabbage.
Difficulty: Easy
Short Penne with Mushrooms, Breadcrumbs, and
Wild Fennel: Mezze Maniche con Porcini, Mollica e Finocchietto
Salted anchovies and wild fennel complement porcini perfectly in this
sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Tagliatelle with Mushrooms and Sausages in a
Clear Sauce: Tagliatelle con Funghi e Salsiccia in Bianco
Mushrooms and sausages are a tasty combination!
Difficulty:
Easy
Butterflies with Bell Peppers and Arugola:
Farfalle Con Peperoni e Rucola
Butterflies with a zesty summer
sauce of peppers and arugola. If you add tomato, mozzarella, and chill, you've
got picnic food!
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with Bell Pepper Cream: Pasta con Crema di
Peperoni
A refreshing summer pasta sauce made with bell
peppers and garlic.
Difficulty: Easy
Chilled Pasta Salad with Black Olives -- Pasta
Fredda alle Olive
Black olives are one of my favorite summer
seasonings for pasta. Not by themselves, of course, but they do help define the
sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Penne with Peppers and Eggplant: Penne Rigate
con Peperoni e Melanzane
A tasty summer sauce with peppers and
eggplant.
Difficulty: Easy
Spaghetti with Eggplant: Spaghetti con le
Melanzane
Pasta with eggplant, a classic Sicilian dish that's
amazingly good.
Difficulty: Moderate
Arrabiata Sauce: Salsa
Arrabbiata
What you'll get in the trattorie in Rome. Hot
enough to cool you off, and perfect with a caraffe of Colli Albani.
Difficulty: Easy
Cavatelli with Tomatoes and
Arugola
Cavatelli are a traditional Puglian pasta shape. How to
make them, and a tomato-and-ruchetta (arugola) sauce for them..
Difficulty:
Moderate
Five-Colored Shells Sicilian Style: Conchiglie 5
Colori alla Siciliana
A quick, chunky sauce made with
tomatoes, eggplant, and olives.
Difficulty: Easy
Fregula in Tomato Sauce: Fregula al
Pomodoro
A refreshing Sardinian type of pasta in tomato
sauce.
Difficulty: Easy if you buy the pasta, moderate if you make
it.
Pasta Salad: Paste all' Ammiraglio
A zesty chilled pasta with fresh tomatoes and other things, which is
perfect for picnics or very hot days.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes: Paste con Pomodori
Secchi
A quick, easy to do Calabrian sauce that will be ready
by the time the water boils.
Difficulty: Easy
Pasta with a Tomatoey Olive-and-Caper
Sauce
A quick, chunky sauce made with tomatoes and olives.
Difficulty: Easy
Spaghetti with Strombolian Capers: Spaghetti ai
Capperi Stromboliani
A zesty tomatoey sauce with lots of
capers to capture the richness of the Sicilian Isles
Difficulty:
Shells with Red Pesto: Conchiglie al Pesto
Rosso
The work pesto derives from pestare, to
step on or grind, and therefore the sauce need not be green, especially if it's
based on sun-dried tomatoes.
Difficulty: Easy
Sicilian Pesto Sauce: Pesto alla
Siciliana
A pair of zesty Sicilian sauces with tomatoes,
garlic, and nuts.
Difficulty: Easy
Tomato Basil Sauce
Quick,
simple, and tasty. Calls for canned tomatoes, which means you can make it year
round!
Difficulty: Easy
Corkscrews with Zucchini Flowers: Fusilli ai Fiori di
Zucca
Zucchini flowers are mark the arrival of summer, and
work quite nicely in this pasta salad.
Difficulty: Easy
Corkscrews with Zucchini: Fusilli con le
Zucchine
Corkscrews, with a tasty, healthy summer pasta sauce.
Difficulty: Easy
Rigatoni with Zucchini: Rigatoni con gli
Zucchini
A quick, light summery pasta sauce.
Difficulty:
Easy
Spaghetti Annalisa
A delicate
sauce made with zucchini flowers.
Difficulty: Easy
Tagliatelle with Zucchini: Tagliatelle e
Zucchine
Tasty, refreshing, and quick.
Difficulty:
If you haven't found
what you're looking for, please
ask!
Cream, Cheese and Oil-Based
Sauces
Fish-Based Sauces
Meat-Based Sauces
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