Pasta Napoletana is a simple and flavourful Italian recipe, which never lets you down. The rich tomato-based pasta gets its name from the classic Napoletana tomato sauce.
4 people
Did you know?
Pasta Napoletana is named after its exquisite tomato-based sauce, also known as Neapolitan sauce, Napoletana sauce, or Napoli sauce.
1
Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add onion and cook for 8 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes longer. Add Polpa, dried herbs and pepper and stir to combine. Simmer 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.
2
While sauce is simmering, cook pasta as directed on packet.
3
Add basil to sauce and stir to combine. Serve sauce over pasta and top with parmesan.
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Variations:
5
Roasted ratatouille pasta. Combine 500g chopped eggplant, 1 chopped seeded large red capsicum, 350g halved small mushrooms, 1½ tablespoons chopped rosemary leaves and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread onto 2 oven trays lined with baking paper. Bake 20 minutes or until tender. Stir vegetables through napoletana sauce before serving.
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Spaghetti Marinara. Omit basil. Add ½ cup dry white wine and 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes to the sauce along with the Polpa. Simmer the sauce 20 minutes. Add 850g Marinara mix, cover and cook 4 minutes or until seafood is cooked. Serve with spaghetti and top with chopped parsley.
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Quick pasta and meatballs. Remove meat from casings of 500g thick gourmet sausages (such as pork and fennel sausages.). Discard the casings. Roll into meatballs. Place meatballs on a tray lined with baking paper. Bake at 200°C for 12 minutes or until cooked through. Stir meatballs through pasta sauce before serving Pasta Napoletana.
Some recipes need very little to feel complete. Pasta Napoletana is one of them: onion and garlic soften slowly in olive oil before Mutti Polpa Finely Chopped Tomatoes are added to create a rich, fragrant sauce with a naturally rustic texture.
In Napoletana sauce, tomato is not simply one ingredient among many: it is the heart of the dish. The Finely Chopped Tomatoes gently thicken as they cook, while herbs and black pepper add aroma without hiding their bright, distinctive flavour.
The simplicity of Pasta Napoletana also makes it a versatile starting point. Add roasted vegetables for a colourful vegetarian pasta, seafood for a marinara-inspired variation, or meatballs for something more hearty. However you serve it, a good Italian tomato sauce remains at the centre.
