Rosemary works well with red meat as pointed out by the post above. For pasta sauce, why not try some thyme, or hell even sage works in pasta sauces. I'm experimenting with a combination of rosemary and thyme for my bottled sauce and it works nicely.

The key thing is.. keep the herbs to the minimum.. maximum 2 types. You don't want to have a confusing and conflicting sauce.

Basil is a very very delicate herb and will wilt easily. If you want to keep its flavour, use it only at the very end of the cooking time. I'll usually chop up a bunch of basil and stir it into the hot sauce prior to serving. That way, the color and the flavor is kept. Basil works very well with delicate sauces and tomato. Basil + tomatoes are a match made in heaven. Basil are easily overpowered by other strong flavors.

Anyone tried to plan their own herbs and vegs? Been wanting to set up a small tomato "farm" in my garden and also plant some herbs which i use often like thyme, rosemary, basil, sage and parsley. Any recommendations or guidelines?

i normally buy my stuff @ tesco. They carry most of the herbs i've mentioned there.

The rest i plant myself in my herb box.

Penne con carne macinata ala pomodoro
(Penne with minced beef in tomato sauce)

For 4 person

2kg of ripe red tomatoes (Quartered into cubes)
500g of minced beef
200g of streaky bacon (cut into small cubes about 1 inch)
2 large yellow onions (finely diced)
1 stalk of celery (diced)
1 carrot (diced)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 head of garlic (finely chopped)

Flavoring
Rosemary (fresh)
Thyme (fresh)
Oregano (dried or fresh)
Salt
Course black pepper
Bay leaf x 2


Instructions:
1) Brown the bacon in a pot. To help with browning, put the bacon into the pot with some water. The water will help evenly cook the bacon and draw out the fat.
2) Once the bacon is almost brown, pour in the minced beef and brown the meat too. Do not add any water at this stage. Cook off the water coming out of the mince until the beef is brown. Remove to a plate.
3) Using the same pot (don’t wash the pot), pour in the chopped onions and brown them too. Add a little oil if it’s too dry.
4) Once the onion is soft and slightly brown, add in the garlic. Fry till you can smell the fragrance (usually very quickly). Take care not to burn the garlic.
5) Add in the celery and carry to create a mirapua (classic French for mixture of sautéed roots vegetable). Sweat the vegs till they are fragrant.
6) Add in the chopped tomatoes. Stir constantly. If the sauce is too dry, add some water. Bear in mind that the tomatoes have their own moisture and will release into the sauce once they’re being cooked.
7) Add in the browned minced beef. Stir constantly. Pour a can of tomato paste into the sauce to bulk up the flavor. Add the bay leaf and bring to a boil and lower down to simmer for approximately 2 hours.
8) Taste the sauce. Add seasoning of salt and pepper to taste. Take about 2-3 stalks of rosemary and strip off the leaves. Chopped it finely with a knife and add it to the sauce. Strip the leaves off the thyme and oregano and add them into the sauce too. Let the sauce simmer for another 30 minutes until it has reduced to a thicker consistency.



ps.. haha... i know the name sounds kinda stupid. lol

This post has been edited by raist86: Apr 1 2009, 08:13 PM