Today I was making a version of spaghetti alla puttanesca and while the result of the dish itself was delicious the sauce didn't seem like a sauce; it was rather disjointed or unconnected. It seems like there are two separate components: solid "stuff" and watery liquid, unlike the sauces you'd buy already made.
For this particular sauce I used olive oil, garlic, capers, anchovies, parsley, olives and a can of tomato puree; but I've experienced this with many other sauces I tried to make, specially with tomato based ones but not limited to those.
So how do I get the ingredients to somehow link or bind, so that the liquid and solids don't separate? Does cooking time influence that?
Best Answer
SAJ14SAJ has mentioned starch, but I wouldn't add any additional -- I'd just finish the pasta in the sauce.
Pull your pasta a minute or two early, let drain but do not rinse it, and add it to your sauce. The pasta will finish cooking in the sauce, absorbing some of the liquid. It will also release some of its starch into the liquid, helping to bind it.
If you can, reserve some of the pasta water to thin back out the sauce in case thickens too far. (A pyrex measuring cup works well for this, as you can just dip it into the hot water before you drain your pasta)