Pasta offers ultimate comfort after a busy day, needing only simple ingredients like perfectly cooked noodles and a rich tomato sauce. For those seeking a fresh twist on classic tomato pasta, recipe developer Eleanor Wilkinson shares her game-changing addition: fresh vanilla beans scraped from the pod.
Discovering the Secret Ingredient
Eleanor Wilkinson, a cookbook author, highlights vanilla as the key to transforming basic tomato sauce. She declares it the best version she has ever made, noting that everyone likely has it in their kitchen but overlooks it for savory dishes.
After tasting the result, she exclaims, “That is absolutely incredible. This is why I love food, this is why I love travelling, this is why I love learning new things, because I would have never thought to do this – and now I never want to do it a different way.”
Her inspiration comes from Marcella Hazan’s renowned three-ingredient tomato sauce, featuring tinned tomatoes, onion, and butter—a recipe she considers unbeatable. Eleanor’s variation adds fresh vanilla, learned during a visit to a vanilla farm in Mauritius. She explains, “Vanilla is actually a spice, not inherently sweet.”
“So whilst it seems strange, it actually adds something to the sauce that I’ve never tried or tasted before, and I’m so excited for you to give it a go. It’s delicious and interesting but still exceptionally easy,” she adds. “It’s the sort of recipe that makes you feel like a professional chef, even if you’re just cooking from your own kitchen.”
Recipe: Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Vanilla
Ingredients
- One 400g tin of tomatoes (plum or cherry best)
- One onion, halved
- 50g butter
- One vanilla pod (or two tsp vanilla extract)
- Salt, to taste
Method
To serve with two portions of pasta:
- Add tinned tomatoes, onion, butter, and vanilla to a pan over medium heat. Simmer for 40-45 minutes, adding water if needed.
- Taste and season with salt.
- Boil pasta until just short of al dente.
- Remove onions from sauce, add pasta and a splash of pasta water to the pan.
- Stir and toss for a couple more minutes until pasta is al dente.
Viewer Reactions
The video showcasing this recipe has attracted over 7,827 views, 388 likes, and numerous comments. Viewers respond enthusiastically: Laura says, “Ooooo that sounds so interesting, I must try!!” Nell’s Kitchen calls it “SO CLEVER.” Others like Lilibet note “Wild,” and Vince adds, “Gotttta try this.”
