Memorable Quotes:

“A Bearnaise sauce is simply an egg yolk, a shallot, a little tarragon vinegar and butter, but it takes years of practice for the result to be perfect.” — Fernand Point

Bauducco’s Mrs "B's" Pasta Sauce

This sauce comes from a favorite Italian restaurant and bakery in Westlake Village that closed a number of years ago. They were known for excellent sandwiches and fresh pasta, and Mrs. B’s pasta sauce was a particular favorite, especially served with angel hair pasta.

When the restaurant was preparing to close, I asked if they would share the recipe. They didn’t provide the written recipe, but they did explain how they made the sauce. This is my recreation based on that conversation, and I think it comes very close to the original.


Servings: Enough sauce for about 1 pound of pasta
Prep Time: About 25 minutes
Chill Time: Overnight
Cook Time: None

Ingredients:

  • 6–8 fresh Italian plum tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed, including their juices
  • ⅓–½ cup good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
  • 8–10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • Fresh basil leaves, hand-torn, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions:

  1. Peel the fresh Italian plum tomatoes and chop them finely.
  2. Place the fresh tomatoes in a large bowl with the San Marzano tomatoes and their juices, crushing the canned tomatoes by hand.
  3. Add the olive oil, finely chopped garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
  4. Tear the fresh basil leaves by hand and add them to the sauce.
  5. Stir everything together thoroughly.
  6. Cover and refrigerate overnight to allow the tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil to develop their flavors.
  7. When ready to serve, cook 1 pound angel hair pasta until al dente.
  8. Toss the hot pasta with approximately 3–4 cups of the sauce.
  9. Add a little reserved pasta cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce and help it coat the angel hair.
  10. Serve immediately.

Tip: This is essentially a fresh, uncooked tomato sauce, so the quality of the tomatoes and olive oil makes a significant difference. Allowing it to rest overnight is an important part of developing the flavor.

Source: Recreated from Mrs. B’s Pasta Sauce, based on preparation instructions shared verbally by the staff of a former Italian restaurant and bakery in Westlake Village, California.