Pasta can be eaten with many kinds of sauce variations, however I have to admit plain tomato sauce pasta is my personal favorite.
Perhaps it's a childhood memory, or perhaps there's just something very simple and right about matching pasta with tomato sauce — especially a long dry pasta, which is the perfect pair for this sauce.
It's a fast dinner, especially if you already have a tomato sauce handy and ready to use. I always say there are 2 things that need to be in every fridge — 1st is chicken stock and the 2nd is tomato sauce. It's a lifesaver, especially when you need to make a quick dinner or when trying to save a step in more complicated recipes. There's nothing like being prepared in advance to be spontaneous — there's a contradiction right in that sentence, but it works!
I use some butter to refine the sauce, but you can do without it if you want to make a vegan dish or just don't like the butter addition.
I Don't have a tomato sauce on hand
That's all right. I always say that having a homemade tomato sauce is the best option, but there are other alternatives of course — there are great store-bought tomato sauces that are very high quality and made from Italian tomatoes.
The thing about tomato sauce pasta is that you can eat it anytime, anywhere — not tied to any season or holiday. It's just the kind of pasta defined by its simplicity: good pasta and good tomato sauce, that's all we need here. The rest is in the shadows.
So when making tomato sauce pasta, you can decide if you want it a bit more spicy, add other vegetables, or cream it in the oven. Every variation is a winner when the sauce and pasta are good.
Method
1
cook pasta and sauce· 10 minutes
set a large pot with water on a medium high heat , add salt and bring into a simmer. add the pasta and cook according to the manual instructions and remove from water.
sat a pan on medium-high heat, add butter and sage, once melted add the <a href="https://cookincity.com/recipe/ultimate-tomato-sauce/">Tomato sauce</a> and bring to a gentle simmer.
place the pasta in a bowl or plate, add the tomato sauce, spread the basil leaves on top, grate the Parmesan and sprinkle with olive oil
Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.
Can I use a different pasta shape if I don't have Bavette?▾
Absolutely — any long pasta works great here, like spaghetti or linguine. Just follow the cook time on your specific package.
Do I have to use butter, or can I skip it?▾
The butter is what makes the sauce silky and rich, so don't skip it. It only takes 1 tablespoon but it makes a real difference.
Can I use dried sage instead of fresh?▾
The recipe calls for fresh sage leaves, so stick with fresh if you can — dried sage has a much stronger, dustier flavor and won't melt into the butter the same way.
Can I make this for more people?▾
Yes, easily — just scale up the pasta and sauce proportionally and use a bigger pot so the pasta has room to cook properly.
Do I need to use Parmesan, or can I swap it?▾
Parmesan is what Jaron uses here, but Pecorino Romano is a solid swap if that's what you've got — it's sharper and saltier, so go a little lighter with it.
