Are you tired of your go-to pasta sauce? Looking for an alternative to marinara sauce? I am super excited to share this recipe crafted by Husband. We knew we had a winner when Big and Little requested “Daddy’s Pasta Sauce” for dinner AGAIN the next evening. We literally ate it twice in a row. Since then, this pasta sauce recipe has been on regular rotation in our household.
Daddy’s Pasta Sauce
- 16-oz pasta
- 4 scallions (white and pale green parts only)
- 1 garlic bulb
- 3 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, whole
- 2-oz Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 container fresh basil, reserve 1/4 of the basil for topping
- 3-4 shallots, halved
- Fresh mozzarella (cow or buffalo)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder (optional)
- 2 cups pine nuts
- 1/4 cup shaved Parmigiano Reggiano
Preheat oven to 400℉.
Cut off the top third of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Place garlic bulb on square of aluminum foil. Drizzle bulb with extra virgin olive oil. Gather 4 corners of the aluminum foil and lightly pinch above the center of the bulb to create a pouch.
In a plastic bag, combine shallots and tomatoes. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (about 1/3 cup). Add smoked paprika and ancho chili powder. Add salt and pepper to taste. Seal the plastic bag and shake gently to combine. Spread evenly on a sheet pan.
Add the garlic pouch and sheet pan to the oven. Remove the tomatoes after 30-minutes. Continue roasting the garlic another 15-30 minutes (the garlic will be browned and the clove will easily “smoosh” out of the bulb when pressed gently).
While the garlic, tomatoes, and shallots are roasting, toast the pine nuts over low heat. Remove from heat once the pine nuts are lightly browned.
Prepare pasta according to package directions. Retain 1/4 cup of the pasta water. After draining the pasta, drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and stir gently to prevent the pasta from sticking.
Once the garlic and tomatoes have cooled to warm, remove garlic cloves from bulb by gently pressing the bulb from the root to the open top with the blunt side of a paring knife. Add scallions, 3/4 package of the basil and 2-oz of Parmigiano Reggiano to blender. Add warm roasted garlic, tomatoes, and shallots to the blender. Blend until you reach your preferred texture. (We like ours a bit chunky.) If you prefer a thinner sauce, add the reserved pasta water slowly into the blender until your desired consistency is reached. (Note, allow the ingredients to sufficiently cool or puree in small batches to avoid a blender explosion mishap that can occur when blending hot liquids.)
Break-up mozzarella into bite-size pieces. Gently tear basil.
Place pasta in bowl, top with sauce, mozzarella pieces, pine nuts, shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, and basil.
