Making Marinara....

... and lots of it.

Today's cooking project was to make a ton of marinara. Despite my claims that homemade food disappears into the freezer never to come out, marinara sauce is the one exception. And with going back to work rearing its head in six working days, I figured this would be a good project to undertake. Starting the school year with multiple little glad containers with either 1 cup or 2 cups of measured marinara sauce will definitely come in handy on those uninspired evenings when cooking seems completely ludicrous.

I used a recipe I've made before, although not in a while. Featured in Cooking Light a few years ago, it makes upwards of 9 cups. While the recipe itself is somewhat time-consuming (caramelizing the onions for 30 plus minutes as well as 3 + hours of simmer time), the yield makes the effort quite worth it. I like to switch up the type of tomatoes I add - today I used two cans of "crushed" Muir Glen tomatoes (which were actually quite chunky) and one can of Muir Glen tomato puree. I also add the wine to the caramelizing onions, as the pan dries out I pour in a bit of the wine. It makes them very wine-y, but keeps me from burning them. And, learn from my mistake and make sure that when sprinkling dried hot pepper flakes that you have the container open to the sprinkle setting. Not the spoon dipping setting which proceeds to dump a ton of hot pepper into the sauce which then must be spooned out wasting precious tomato-ey goodness.

I took a picture while the sauce was cooking. It isn't the best, as I was desperately trying to keep the splatter from nailing the camera. This sauce does like to splatter, even on the lowest of low settings on my gas stove. Having invested all this effort into making sauce today, I think a sampling of this sauce will become my dinner. It will top some frozen tofu ravioli I re-discovered yesterday nicely, and with minimal effort on my part since I'm now feeling lazy.



Marinara Magnifica

Cooking Light's Notes - Dry red wine intensifies the well-blended flavors in this lusciously seasoned tomato sauce--magnifico!Serve over your favorite pasta.

My Notes - I like to switch up the type of tomatoes I add - today I used two cans of "crushed" Muir Glen tomatoes (which were actually quite chunky) and one can of Muir Glen tomato puree. I also add the wine to the caramelizing onions, as the pan dries out I pour in a bit of the wine. It makes them very wine-y, but keeps me from burning them. I also up the spices a bit depending on my mood.

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (6-ounce) cans tomato paste

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar. Cook 30 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 9 cups (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 169(20% from fat); FAT 3.8g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 5.3g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 131mg; SODIUM 960mg; FIBER 6.5g; IRON 2.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.9g
Cooking Light, AUGUST 2004

Italian Inspiration.

I just love Italian food. It's vegetarian friendly, chock full of fresh herbs and cheeses and always very comforting to eat. Nothing soothes me more during the bitterly cold winter then a nice plate of baked ziti, lasagna or the like. But, those heavier dishes wouldn't seem as appropriate now during the toasty summer months, so when planning last night's meal I looked for lighter inspiration.

I decided to cheat, and buy frozen ravioli. We're lucky - here in Brooklyn there are several companies that make excellent frozen ravioli. Nothing pleases me more then browsing the multitude of choices in the Fratelli Ravioli (www.fratelliravioli.com) freezer (yes, they have their own freezer just for their ravioli) at our local grocery store. Whole wheat tofu spinach, pesto, spinach, lobster (doesn't appeal to me but its a choice), sundried tomato, stuffed shells . . . the list just goes on. So, sometimes I take the easy way out and splurge on their tasty products. They're not exactly cheap running at approximately ten dollars for sixteen ravioli, but the quality is good and way easier then making my own ravioli.

I wanted a fresh sauce to pair with my cheese ravioli, so I decided to try the Chunky Garden-Tomato sauce posted on the Cooking Light website. Of course, lacking a garden I had to actually buy tomatoes but the concept of the sauce seemed appealing. But then I didn't buy quite enough tomatoes, and had to throw in a can of diced which kind of marred the freshness of the sauce. Overall it was a tasty sauce that paired well with the ravioli and a side of homemade garlic bread.

And to start the meal, I decided a little caprese salad was in order. I love caprese salad. I could eat it every day and be happy. There is something about the sweetness of the ripe tomatoes, the creaminess of the fresh mozzeralla, the tang of fresh basil coupled with the mellowness of olive oil and basalmic vinegar - what's not to love? That qualifies as my idea of heaven. M. teased me when we spent a few days in Italy on our honeymoon two years ago because I think I had caprese salad every day while we were there. I just love it, and last night became the official launch of caprese salad season in our house.

My notes - I typically make caprese salad free-form, just adding the ingredients and winging amounts. But for the unfamiliar, this Cooking Light recipe would be a good place to start.

Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, and Basil Salad
Cooking Light Magazine
Cooking Light's notes - In Italy, this is known as insalata caprese (Capri-style salad). It's best in summer, when tomatoes are at their peak. If you can get imported Buffalo mozzarella from Italy, use it, but domestic fresh mozzarella is fine, as well. Fresh mozzarella cheese is packed in water. It has a softer texture and sweeter, more delicate flavor than the regular part-skim mozzarella that is more commonly used in cooking for its superior melting qualities. 4 tomatoes, each cut into 6 slices (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 slices
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Arrange 4 tomato slices and 2 mozzarella slices on each of 6 salad plates. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper; drizzle with oil. Top evenly with basil. Yield: 6 servings NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 150(64% from fat); FAT 10.7g (sat 5.8g,mono 1.9g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 7.8g; CHOLESTEROL 30mg; CALCIUM 231mg; SODIUM 138mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.4g
Chunky Garden Tomato Sauce
Cooking Light Magazine

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over pasta or polenta, or on crostini. Yield: 3 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup) NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 63(36% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 0.3g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 1.7g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 25mg; SODIUM 181mg; FIBER 2.4g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.2g

Technorati Tags: salad, Italian, ravioli

Pesto

On Tuesday, I stopped by our local farmer's market and scored this lovely bunch of basil for a mere $2.

Instantly, I thought of making pesto. Traditionally, I'm a red sauce kind of girl. But my dear college friend M (recipient of the rhubarb shortbread) worked her magic on me in college and opened my eyes to the delight that is a tangy pesto sauce. M. and I spent a few days on the Ligurian coast during our honeymoon in the summer of 2004, and there I got to taste pesto sauces to my heart's content. Pesto originally hails from the Ligurian part of Italy, and each restaurant had their own recipe but they were all delicious! And, since our wedding anniversary is quickly approaching, I thought this bunch of basil would be perfect for trying a new pesto recipe.

Pesto
Adapted from Bow-Tie Pasta with Pesto recipe
The American Test Kitchen Cookbook

1/4 cup pine nuts
3 medium cloves of garlic, threaded on a skewer
2 cups packed basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional, I omitted)
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan
1 pound pasta (bow-ties, linguine, fusilli etc)

1. Toast nuts in a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir frequently, until nuts are just golden and fragrant (4-5 minutes).
2. Meanwhile bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large pot. Lower skewered garlic into water, and boil for 45 seconds. Run garlic under cold water. Remove from skewer, peel and mince. [I simply boiled water in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave and boiled the garlic in that, since I wasn't cooking an entire pound of pasta.]
3. Place basil and parsley (if using) in a heavy-duty sealable plastic bag. Pound with meat pounder or roll with rolling pin until all leaves are bruised (I used the rolling pin method).
4. Place nuts, garlic, basil, oil and 1/2 tsp salt in workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as neccessary. Transfer mixture to small bowl. Add cheese and adjust salt. (Surface of pesto can be covered with sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to five days.


I just cooked a little pasta for me, since M. was working late. I served my fusilli with pesto along side the asparagus from our CSA share, and wilted swiss chard greens. I simply washed and chopped the chard, cooking with a touch of cooking spray, half a lemon and salt and pepper. The aspargus was glazed with lemon juice and a touch of basalmic vinegar, as well as a dash of salt and pepper. With a little homemade whole wheat garlic bread and a glass of wine, it made for a tasty and enjoyable meal.




After dinner I browsed through The America's Test Kitchen Cookbook as it is one I haven't looked at as often as I should. While not vegetarian, there are plenty of vegetarian options I should find occasions to try. Helios and I thought the thin crust pizza looked quite promising....



Technorati Tags: basil, pesto, Italian