The Best Pasta Sauce Is Already in Your Fridge

Mezze is greatest identified for anchoring a leisurely desk, with bowls of dips and spreads that invite scooping with torn bread, passing plates, and lingering dialog. However those self same tubs of baba ghanoush, muhammara, or labneh do not have to remain tied to the full-on unfold. With a couple of pantry staples and a bit warmth out of your range, they will simply as simply present a flavor-packed pasta sauce for a fast weeknight meal.

This method works with each good-quality store-bought mezze and selfmade leftovers. Take baba ghanoush or mutabal, as an illustration. Baba ghanoush is smoky and sometimes left a bit chunky, whereas mutabal is silky-smooth and tahini-forward. Both one transforms fantastically when warmed with olive oil, garlic, and a splash of starchy pasta water. When tossed with sizzling pasta and completed with a squeeze of lemon and a bathe of Parmigiano-Reggiano, it turns right into a luscious sauce, coating every noodle with smoky depth and savory richness. My go-to is a baba ghanoush pasta with blistered tomatoes and recent herbs.

Muhammara works simply as nicely. Made with crimson peppers, walnuts, and pomegranate molasses, it is wealthy and nutty, with a tangy pop that brightens its depth. Loosened with pasta water and a drizzle of olive oil, it turns silky, clinging to the noodles with sweetness, richness, and simply sufficient acidity. A ultimate grating of Parmesan provides a savory edge that rounds all the things out.

Labneh can work, too. The thick, tangy yogurt does not want a lot—simply stir it straight into sizzling pasta with a bit reserved pasta water till it thins right into a creamy sauce. Prime with mint, parsley, pine nuts, and a drizzle of strong olive oil for a vegetarian tackle macarona bil laban.

Mezze does not at all times need to arrive as an elaborate, meticulously garnished unfold. Even distilled to a single dip with only a few components, it nonetheless carries the spirit of sharing and luxury. Turning a bath of mezze into a fast pasta dish takes solely minutes, but the consequence feels deeply grounding. Similar to that, a weeknight dinner turns into something however bizarre.