A recipe developer has shared how pasta lovers can elevate their dishes with one unexpected ingredient. The recommendation proved popular when Eleanor Wilkinson, a recipe developer and author of One Pot One Portion, posted it on TikTok. With over 300,000 followers on her account @Eleanorgwilkinson, fans love her straightforward yet tasty recipes.
The Magic Ingredient
In a video likely to impress pasta lovers, Eleanor revealed a cooking tip for anyone making their own sauce. She told viewers: "This is the best tomato pasta I have ever made and the secret ingredient is something everyone has in the kitchen but would never think to put in a savoury dish. That is absolutely incredible."
Eleanor explained: "So the base of this is Marcella Hazan's famous three-ingredient pasta sauce, which is unbeaten in my eyes. The only difference I'm making is adding vanilla. This is something I learned at a vanilla farm in Mauritius. If you didn't know, vanilla is actually a spice. It's not inherently sweet, so whilst it seems strange, it actually adds something to this sauce I have never tried or tasted before."
Why Vanilla Works
According to Chowhound, vanilla is a "magic ingredient." The food website offers tips for making a "truly spectacular tomato sauce." The advice states: "Adding vanilla to tomato sauce is a trick that shouldn't work — not at first glance — but it does. Vanilla is a little bit of a magic ingredient. It's good for rounding out a batch of cookies or taking a classic vanilla buttercream frosting to the next level, but its sweet, sometimes spicy flavour notes are found in some unexpected places too, like an oak barrel-aged bourbon. Vanilla complements everything from cocktails, pork dishes, and yes — even tomato sauce."
Reaction from Foodies
The video gained thousands of likes, and commenters loved the recommendation. One reply read: "This is SO CLEVER." Another fan commented: "OMIGOSH, I'm eating it now, and it's INCREDIBLE!!! It soothes the acidic burn of the tomatoes and adds a more savoury unctuousness that I've never tasted before!"
Someone else asked: "Could you use extract instead of the bean paste?" Eleanor replied: "Yes! Check out the recipe on my website."
Eleanor encouraged her followers: "I'm so excited for you to give it a go. It's delicious and interesting, but still exceptionally easy. It's the sort of recipe that makes you feel like a professional chef, even if you're just cooking from your own kitchen."
