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Butter -- Simmer tomatoes or puree briefly with a jolt of butter, some salt and fresh black pepper. Fast tomato -- Heat whole tomatoes in a pan until they pop from the heat. Add basil, salt, pepper, mash about a bit, and cook until the liquid evaporates. Garlic and peppe r --Sauté lots of garlic and hot red pepper flakes in oil. Add tomatoes and reduce. Top with parsley. Onion, garlic --Sauté finely chopped onion and garlic in oil until soft, then add tomatoes or puree. Simmer a bit before serving or using in another recipe. Sautéed vegetables --Sauté chopped onion, celery, carrots, green pepper, parsley, garlic, in any combination before adding tomatoes or puree. Simmered vegetables --Simmer in scant moisture any of the above and then puree before adding tomatoes. Bay leaves, cinnamon --Sauté a sliced onion in oil, add pureed tomatoes, a bunch of whole bay leaves and a touch of cinnamon. Before serving, remove bay leaves. Brandy --Sauté onions in oil, add brandy, simmer a bit and then add chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, lemon juice. Heat, but don’t boil. Brandy, vegetables --Sauté chopped onions, celery, carrots. Add peeled, seeded tomatoes, a little salt and sugar and a touch of brandy. Simmer and serve. Bread crumbs -- Add a few bread crumbs to tomato sauce before serving. Changes the consistency. Capers --Add a handful of capers to any tomato sauce. With mozzarella --Heat pureed fresh tomatoes in oil, add sliced mozzarella, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Mix well, then add one of the spiral pastas. Ginger and tomato --Sauté chopped fresh ginger root with garlic, basil and parsley in oil. Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook a while and then raise heat and stir in diced mozzarella. Top with chopped parsley. Goat cheese --Add goat cheese and Tabasco to a simple tomato sauce. Or use blue cheese and omit the Tabasco. Hot chilies and garlic --Sauté lots of chopped garlic and some finely minced hot green chili peppers in oil. Add fresh tomato pulp, a little tomato paste or puree, parsley, a little vinegar, salt, pepper and basil. Milk and tomatoes --Sauté chopped onion and pureed tomatoes in oil with a little salt and sugar. Add several shots of milk and cook until it thickens. Olives --Lightly sauté chopped black olives, garlic, and chopped onions or scallions in oil. Add tomatoes and simmer briefly. Orange --Add orange juice, Tabasco and cream to simple tomato sauce. Pasta simmered in tomatoes --Partially cook and then drain pasta. Toss with a bit of oil and add chopped tomatoes, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cook until pasta is just done. Thyme and pork drippings --A standard simple tomato sauce changes character when thyme is substituted for the basil and/or parsley and pork drippings or bacon fat are added to the oil. Tomatoes, marinated --Marinate chopped fresh tomatoes in olive oil with garlic, several pieces of chili pepper, olives, salt and pepper. After several hours, and before serving, remove the chili pepper. Tomatoes, pureed raw --Blend fresh tomatoes with lots of basil and parsley, salt and pepper, and a little olive oil. Garlic optional. Mustard --Season simmering tomato puree with dry mustard to taste. Estivi --Make an ice cold sauce of fresh tomatoes, sliced onions, vinegar, oil, fresh basil, parsley and black pepper and serve it over piping hot pasta. Beef curry, tomatoes --Sauté onions and garlic in butter. Add curry powder, mix, then add tomatoes and puree. Cook slowly until thick. Add raw ground beef in loose bits and simmer for a while longer. Beef sauce --Sauté chopped onions, celery, carrots in oil; add stew beef or a chunk of chuck or bottom round and brown all over. Then add water and simmer until meat is tender and the sauce is thick. Options include the addition of red wine, chopped pancetta or bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, anchovy fillets, garlic, paprika, chopped peppers in any combination you like. If it is a big piece of beef it can be served separately with the sauce used over pasta. Otherwise the meat can be allowed to disintegrate during long cooking. Simple meat, tomatoes --Brown ground beef and/or pork and/or crumbled sausage along with chopped onions, celery, pepper, carrots. Remove fat and add tomatoes and puree. Season with basil, black pepper, oregano, garlic. Cook it fast so the vegetables stay crunchy, or simmer it long to make a smoother sauce. Diced beef, tomatoes --Melt butter in oil, add rosemary, bay leaves, sage, black pepper. Dice beef fairly fine, brown in the flavored oil, and then add chopped tomatoes. Cook just until the meat is tender. Mexican --Add cumin and chili powder to standard ground meat sauce, substituting green chilies for bell peppers and shredded Monterey Jack for the traditional grated Parmesan or Romano. Two sauces, one pasta --Make a standard beef, tomato, vegetable sauce. Before serving, make another sauce of melted butter, brandy, black pepper, chili pepper, Worcestershire sauce and cook it a bit before adding heavy cream. Toss the brandy sauce with hot pasta and then serve the meat sauce over it.
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