Gmvozd/Getty Images
If you’re short on time, there’s nothing wrong with spicing up a jar of store-bought pasta sauce. But if you have the time to make homemade spaghetti sauce, the results will be even richer and more flavorful. To get some expert tips on perfecting our homemade sauce recipe, Tasting Table spoke to Chef Billy Parisi, a celebrated chef who regularly offers advice on elevating everyday cooking to achieve gourmet results. Parisi’s grandparents were from Terrasini, Sicily, and came to the U.S. at a young age with a love of cooking, which was ultimately passed down to him.
According to Parisi, there is one unexpected ingredient that will take your spaghetti sauce to the next level: miso. Adding miso to your homemade spaghetti sauce is a simple, chef-approved way to make your pasta sauce taste like a secret recipe. “It would certainly increase the umami/savoriness and earthiness of the spaghetti sauce,” the chef notes, “making it more delicious, especially because it pairs so well with tomatoes.” The umami flavor of miso is both delicate and powerful and can make traditional homemade spaghetti taste gourmet.
In addition to infusing your homemade Italian sauce with an even bolder, richer flavor, Parisi explains that “it should thicken the sauce even more, which could eliminate any need for tomato paste.” Another huge benefit of incorporating miso into your homemade sauce is that it has a lower acidity level than tomato paste. Parisi adds that using miso instead of tomato paste “could bring down the acidity of the overall sauce, which is easier on the gut.”
What ingredients to pair with miso for the most savory sauce
Olga Mazyarkina/Getty Images
If you’re adding miso paste to enrich flavor and thicken your pasta sauce, there are some additional ingredients you can use to further elevate the sauce. We asked Parisi what other ingredients would complement the miso flavor, and he suggested garlic, sugar, and vinegar. These ingredients add a necessary acid component and give the sauce a slight sweetness that balances out the salty and umami flavors.
According to the expert, the best meats to pair with a miso-infused spaghetti sauce are beef, chicken, duck, and oysters. You can also use a dash of oyster sauce if you don’t have fresh oysters. If you’re making a veggie spaghetti sauce, add legumes, mushrooms, or walnuts to give your pasta sauce a richer flavor and a bold texture.
If you don’t have time to make pasta sauce from scratch, you can add miso paste to any store-bought pasta sauce. If you’re not sure which brand to buy, we’ve ranked 15 popular store-bought pasta sauces, with Rao’s coming out on top as the winner. Add miso to the jarred sauce to taste and let it simmer in the sauce for a while so that the flavors are fully incorporated.
Dining and Cooking