Giada's Family Secret for Sweeter Pasta Sauce
Skip the sugar and use this instead.
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In a recent live demo on the Food Network Kitchen app, Giada cooked up a stunning summery pasta dish: Crab and Cherry Tomato Fettuccine. This easy dish whisks her away to the Amalfi coast where she remembers eating many different seafood pastas. And if you can’t find fresh crab, that’s fine! She makes it with canned.
During the demo, one of the viewers asked Giada if she ever adds sugar to her sauces. While she does, sometimes, that’s never her first solution for an overly acidic sauce. “In my family,'' said Giada, “we always added carrot to take out the acidity.” She suggested starting with some carrot and if that didn’t work finish the sauce with some butter. “The butter will make it velvety and get rid of that tinny or acidic flavor,” explained Giada. Check out her Simple Tomato Sauce for a good blueprint. If you’re going to use sugar, Giada warned that you should use a very small amount, “maybe a half a teaspoon because it gets sweet very fast.”
Another of Giada’s secrets for sweeter sauce is to use canned cherry tomatoes. "I love canned cherry tomatoes," she says. "I look for them everywhere and these days you can get them online too. They’re sweeter. They make this really, lovely summery, fresh sauce." If you can’t find them, Giada said fresh cherry tomatoes can be used, but be sure to add some pureed tomatoes to get some extra juice. It all depends on how saucy you want your pasta, she says.
Also, Giada suggested you follow this light summery meal with her Raspberry Tiramisu. You’re welcome.
Get a glimpse into Giada's kitchen on Giada at Home every Saturday at 12|11c.
