Looking for something besides red gravy for your pasta? Try these:

1. Dried tomatoes and/or dried porcini mushrooms, roughly ground in a coffee grinder.
2. Roughly chopped olives.
3. Fried garlic or shallots slivers, slow-cooked in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, until lightly browned.
4. Fried capers flash cooked in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for 30 to 60 seconds.
5. Chopped or grated hardboiled egg or a poached egg.
6. Toasted nuts or seeds, ground if you like and flavored with woody herbs. e.g. pecans with rosemary or thyme.
7. Flash cooked, in olive oil, fresh chile slices e.g. jalapeno, Thai or serrano.
8. Bread crumbs, about 2 cups lightly fried in 1/4 cup olive oil seasoned with salt, Parmesan, and Italian seasonings.