EXCLUSIVE: From a little-known ingredient to a one-minute cooking trick, a top chef and restaurant owner shared his tips for elevating pasta
14:45, 06 Dec 2025Updated 14:52, 06 Dec 2025
Nima says the ingredient helps create ‘a rich, umami depth perfect for tomato-based sauces’
A top chef says Brits are missing a trick by overlooking a rather surprising ingredient in homemade tomato-based sauces. Nima Safaei, trained by chef nutritionist Salvatore Ferrara – who has collaborated with Marco Pierre White and Aldo Zilli – is the owner of Soho hotspot 40 Dean Street, an Italian restaurant and bar.
Sharing his expertise in this cuisine, Nima says cooks should use an unusual ingredient to create a “rich” and flavourful sauce.
Asked whether he believes there is one ingredient that can jazz up any meal, he said: “It’s hard to choose just one! But one that Brits often overlook in Italian cooking is anchovies, but it has to be those preserved in olive oil, not brine. Anchovy, unlike other fish, easily melts into sauces, offering up a rich, umami depth perfect for tomato-based sauces,” reports the Express.
Not keen on fish? Nima’s got you covered with a solid backup option.
The chef says Brits often overlook the ingredient in Italian cooking(Image: Getty)
He added: “If you’re not a fan of anchovies, the other go-to ingredient has to be San Marzano tomatoes, aka the gold standard of tomato. They’re grown in the mineral-rich soil of Mount Vesuvius and are sweet, velvety and have a very deep flavour.”
Main ingredients for Italian dishes tend to be tomatoes, onions and garlic. If you’re reaching for the latter, Nima swears by cold-infusing the garlic rather than chucking it straight in the frying pan for a superior flavour.
This method sees them gently placed into cool or lukewarm liquid – oil, water, or alcohol – and left to release flavours slowly.
He revealed: “One trick I swear by is cold-infusing garlic into olive oil rather than frying it. I gently warm the oil, turn off the heat, add sliced garlic, and let it sit.”
Nima recommends cold-infusing garlic for the perfect taste(Image: Getty)
According to the chef, infusing garlic this way sidesteps that bitter flavour you can end up with when its overcooked.
“You get all the aroma and sweetness of garlic without the bitterness that comes from overcooking,” he added.
“That garlic-infused oil becomes the perfect base for pasta, seafood, or even a simple bruschetta.”
This aromatic oil works brilliantly drizzled over classics like spaghetti bolognese or stirred through a rich tagliatelle dish.
But it’s not just about what goes into the pot. Nima says a simple one-minute trick at the end also helps make a difference.
“Remember to rest your pasta for one minute before serving, just like you rest a steak,” he added.
“Letting it sit in the sauce off the heat allows the flavours to settle and the texture to become perfectly supple.”
Dining and Cooking