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Contents
Basic Tomato Sauce
Tomato sauce should be kept simple. Otherwise, the flavors become all jumbled and unrecognizable. I have a friend who thinks that almost anything can go in a tomato sauce and I cringe every time she offers me some. The recipe below is for basic tomato sauce. Once created you can add what you like, or use as you like, to create a plethora of dishes.
- 5 lbs of fresh plum tomatoes stems cut out and quartered. For heaven sake leave the skins on that’s where all the flavor, fiber and vitamins are.
- 3 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 large sweet onion chopped
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons dried Turkish Oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups red wine (optional)
Serves many
- In a large pot add the olive oil and onions and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and salt.
- Cover the pot and let cook for 10 to 15 minutes over medium low heat. Stir every couple of minutes to make sure tomatoes do not stick to the bottom and burn.
- When the tomatoes have released their juices the pot will be filled with simmering tomatoes in plenty of liquid. Now add the red wine (if you are using red wine), oregano, garlic and black pepper.
- Cook covered over medium low heat for another 30 minutes.
- Remove cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Use a submersible blender and blend all the pots contents until smooth.
- Continue to cook on medium low heat uncovered until sauce thickens to the point you like. If you do not have the time to thicken the sauce by slow simmering, then add a high quality tomato paste to thicken.
Place in 1 pint containers and freeze until needed. When needed thaw and add the flavorings you want while reheating. If you use basil add that just before serving as it will loose its flavor if you add it too soon.
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Elicoidali with mushroom sauce
Elicoidali resembles a small ziti, but any pasta you like could be used.
- ½ Elicoidali pasta
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ fresh mushrooms, quartered, baby bellas are my preference
- 2 tablespoon julienne sun dried tomatoes that have been packed in oil
- 1 minced clove of garlic
- 1 tablespoon capers
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup basil pesto, use the fresh kind now being sold in stores everywhere
- salt & pepper
serves 2
- Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water
- While the pasta cooks sauté the mushrooms in the olive oil for 5 minutes on medium high heat
- Add the sun dried tomatoes, garlic and capers
- Sauté for 3 minutes on medium heat
- Add cream and pesto
- Bring just back to a simmer and remove from heat.
- Drain pasta
- Pour sauce over pasta and mix.
Serve with fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
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Tortellini variation
- Use 1 lb fresh mushroom & cheese stuffed tortellini in place of the Elicoidali in the above recipe
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Grilled Vegetable Lasagna with Puttanesca Sauce and Pesto
- 2 pounds ricotta
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Basil Pesto (use homemade or prepared Pesto sauce of good quality)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Puttanesca Sauce, recipe follows
- 1 1/4 pounds lasagna noodles
- Grilled Vegetables, recipe follows
- 8 ounces mozzarella, coarsely grated
Serves 8 to 10
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl mix the ricotta cheese with salt, half a cup of Pesto and half a cup of olive oil
- Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish, then spoon 1/2 cup of Puttanesca Sauce onto the bottom of the dish. Cover with a layer of lasagna noodles. Top the lasagna with a layer of ricotta, then a layer of eggplant, zucchini, onion and red pepper, a layer of grated mozzarella, and a layer of puttanesca sauce. Repeat layering the lasagna, ricotta, vegetables, mozzarella and sauce in this manner until all ingredients have been used, ending with mozzarella on top.
- Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and golden brown, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow to rest 10 minutes before serving, drizzled with some of the remaining pesto oil.
Puttanesca Sauce:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 6 cloves minced garlic
- 2 (28-ounce) cans Roma plum tomatoes, broken into pieces, with juice
- 1 cup tightly packed, pitted, chopped Kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 2 tablespoons (about 8) minced anchovy fillets
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt
In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and simmer until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, about 40 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste, cover and set aside.
Grilled Vegetables: 4 medium zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices 4 red or yellow bell peppers, roasted, seeded and peeled 2 medium eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/4-inch rounds 2 large yellow onions, cut into 1/4-inch rounds 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Light the grill or pre-heat the broiler.
In a large shallow bowl, toss the eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and onion with the oil and salt. If using the broiler, arrange the vegetables in a single layer on 2 lightly greased or non-stick baking sheets. Grill or broil in batches, turning the vegetables once, until they are tender, lightly browned, and have released most of their moisture, about 5 to 6 minutes per side.
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