| More pasta or more sauce? That is the question. | | | | Pasta with Lemon Vodka Sauce |
| While renowned Italian chef Mario Batali announces | | | | Penne Pasta with Tomato Vodka Sauce |
| pasta is king in his Serious Eats' segment Mario | | | | Shrimp Penne a la Vodka |
| Unclogged: How to Sauce Pasta, New York Times | | | | Meat Sauce |
| food writer Mark Bittman decides piling on the sauce is | | | | Self-explanatory, meat sauce is generally a ground |
| now the way to go. | | | | beef, turkey or pork cooked with some kind of tomato |
| Batali claims that the sauce should be treated as a | | | | counterpart. Some mix ground meat with an already |
| condiment to pasta, and should not interfere with the | | | | made tomato pasta sauce to add texture and extra |
| pasta itself. "What you want to eat when you eat a | | | | protein to their pasta dishes. Adding meat, however, |
| bowl of pasta is pasta," he says defending Italy's way | | | | can also add a pile of grease to your sauce, which |
| of serving pasta and criticizing the American way as | | | | means Bittman stays away from such meat sauces |
| "overdressed." | | | | when piling it on. |
| On the contrary, Bittman's recent health finds have | | | | Spaghetti in Meat Sauce |
| spurred him to treat the sauce as the main event and | | | | Tomato Meat Sauce |
| the pasta as, well, an afterthought. He claims that the | | | | Meaty Pasta Dinner |
| dangers of eating pasta are just as bad as eating a | | | | Pesto |
| piece of white bread, or biscotti. | | | | Having originated in Genoa, Italy, this sauce is made |
| But, while many people stand on both sides of this | | | | from a combination of basil, salt pine nuts and garlic. |
| issue, the debate can really go nowhere if you don't | | | | There are many variations, some including the use of a |
| consider what type of pasta sauce you're using. There | | | | tomato, but the main ingredient is always basil. While |
| are countless varieties of homemade as well as | | | | there are no heavy creams in this sauce to send the |
| purchasable sauces out there, ranging quite widely in | | | | Bittman scale rising, it would be quite hard to manage a |
| nutritional value. The following is a basic guide to the | | | | high sauce-to-pasta ratio with pesto. It's generally not |
| types of sauces people use on their pasta, and which | | | | very liquidy or full of chunky vegetables, but rather it |
| you should pile on (if you so desire), according to the | | | | provides a layor of flavor that clings to the pasta. |
| Bittman point of view. | | | | Pesto |
| Alfredo | | | | The Basic Pesto Recipe |
| Made from parmesan cheese, butter, and heavy | | | | Pasta with Pesto Sauce |
| cream, this sauce is most traditionally served with | | | | Marinara |
| fettucine. This sauce originated in Rome, where | | | | A simple tomato sauce, often infused with herbs such |
| American tourists would enjoy restauranteur Alfredo di | | | | as parsley or basil, this sauce is very common in many |
| Lelio's creation. A heavy and very fatty sauce, this | | | | pasta dishes served in America. In other countries |
| would not be a choice Mark Bittman would back when | | | | however, marinara sauce refers to a tomato-based |
| encouraging the more sauce-to-pasta ratio. | | | | sauce with seafood in it, as the word in Italian means |
| Light Alfredo | | | | coastal, or seafaring. Since there are so many |
| Fettuccine Alfredo | | | | different ways to make the marinara sauce, it's hard |
| Roasted Garlic Alfredo | | | | to judge how healthy it is on the Bittman scale. But, in |
| Vodka | | | | his own demonstration, he used a tomato-based |
| Traditionally, vodka sauce is made from heavy cream, | | | | sauce with a variety of vegetables. |
| crushed tomatoes, and garlic powder. Some add | | | | Marinara Sauce |
| sausage to the mixture, but overall this is also seen as | | | | Shrimp Marinara |
| a heavy sauce. The most common pasta dish to use | | | | Pasta with Marinara Sauce and Grilled Vegetables |
| this sauce is penne a la vodka. Origins of the dish have | | | | The sky is the limit for the kinds of sauces out there, |
| been disputed with some claiming it was invented in | | | | from blue cheese to fish sauces; new sauces are |
| Bologna, Italy, and others retorting Naples was its | | | | being invented every day. So go out there and create |
| original home. Bittman scale says: not the sauce I'm | | | | a new sauce today, or be inspired by these additional |
| talking about! | | | | recipes that didn't fall into their own categories. |