2. Tips for Shopping for Ingredients
Before we get started with our recipe ideas, we have a few crucial suggestions for you when you’re out shopping for the ingredients. The first one we have for you is – always shop for organic ingredients.
The ingredients make the most significant difference in the meal and organic is the way to go for your recipe. Commercial agriculture relies on the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow crops quickly and protect them from insect infestations.
Unfortunately, these toxins end up contaminating the groundwater where they’re absorbed into the plants as they grow. The result of these farming methods are vegetables containing trace amounts of dangerous substances harmful to your health. It’s worth spending a few extra dollars on your grocery bill to receive the best food money can buy.
Serena tomatoes from the Naples region of Italian grow in volcanic soil spread around the area. The earth gives the fruit their unique taste best described as sweet and juicy. We recommend you use whole plum Serena tomatoes for your recipe and mash them with a potato masher for a smooth sauce.
When it comes to the meat for the sauce, (if you’re making a meat sauce,) then we recommend you visit your local butcher for the best grass-fed ground beef and ground veal, and ground pork. Grass-fed meats from free-range animals taste better than commercially raised animals due to fewer hormones and antibiotics added to their feed. All the best sauce recipes call for a balance of these three types of meat – and when you taste the sauce, you’ll understand why.
If you’re a whizz in the kitchen, then consider making your pasta from scratch – it’s an enriching experience if you have the time to spare. However, if you’re like us and can’t spend all day making delicious pasta, then buy the store-bought stuff. We use whole-wheat spaghetti for all of our sauces, but if you don’t have a gluten intolerance – you can use any type that you like.
The final piece of the puzzle for your ingredients is the herbs. Fresh parsley, basil, and oregano are essential components of any pasta sauce that’s worth serving. Save yourself some money and plant a herb garden on your kitchen window sill using butter tubs for your flowerbeds. Herbs grow readily indoors, and freshly picked herbs taste magnificent in your sauce.
When chopping your herbs, it’s critical that you take a loose grip when cutting and don’t bruise them with the knife — too much pressure during chopping results in all of the flavor of the herbs winding up on the chopping board, instead of in your sauce.