I have not posted in a while. Erin and I have not been doing much interesting cooking. It has been hot and we tend not to cook as much when it is hot. I did end up making a nice "gravy" with my fresh tomatoes! I do not like to eat chunks of tomato(I am weird) so I decided to try a gravy. Really was not sure what do to or how to do it so I did some research and the internet and found and easy recipe that I liked and used that as a guide.
10-15 cloves fresh garlic sliced thin lengthwise.
6 tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
2 lbs tomatoes(blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped) I used our fresh beefsteak and a couple heirlooms.
1 cup wine
1/2 can tomato sauce (i think it a 32oz can)
1 tbls tomato paste
3-4 pinches sugar
1 package dried portobello mushrooms(re-constituted)
Note: to blanch tomatoes cut an "X" on the bottom, drop in boiling water for 1 minute, remove and put in a ice bath. After they cool you should be able to peel from bottom side where you cut the "X"
Note2: Peeling, seeding and chopping was no fun! It was quite messy and your hands get very slippery. I have no advice on how to do this. All tomatoes seem to be a little different as far seed quantity, location and how juicy they are. Now I see why people used the can stuff!
I used our big LeCruset pot and heated the oil until it was barely smoking. I then added the onion and let saute for 3-4 minutes, followed by the garlic. After this your whole kitchen will smell wonderful! I then added all the tomatoes and wine and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Since I wanted to make a gravy I need a little more liquid so I added the tomato sauce. I also added the sugar and the tomato paste at this point. I ended up letting it simmer on low for 3-4 hours using my smallest burner. I then took my trusty Braun hand mixer and proceeded to mix it into a thick gravy. This part I just eyeballed it until I was happy with the consistency.
While putting some stuff back in the fridge I saw a package of dried portobellos that needed to be used. I re-constituted them, chopped them then added to the sauce. It gave the sauce a really earthy tone to it!
Erin came home with some fresh linguini and ricotta raviolis from Mona Lisa Restaurant/Store in Little Italy. I made my fresh garlic bread and we were all set. I thought the sauce was really good. You really do a get a different taste from the fresh tomatoes. We like the idea of the gravy also. A lot of people bury their pasta in the suace. Due to a trip to Italy Erin and I took in 2006 we became intersted in the gravy type sauces.
Backstory: I ride a Ducati motorcycle and we were there for the Ducati Club World Presidents Meeting. Ducati supplied us with motorcycles, room and board all we had to do was buy the tickets and bring spending money. It was quite an opportunity. I had only known Erin for about 3 monthe before I asked her to go! We basically rode from Bologna, through umbria, out to the costal town of Rimini then to Rome. After Rome we rode up near Florence then back to Bologna. It seems quick but it was done over a 2-1/2 week time period. While there we had a lot of "homestyle" meals at the places we were staying. They never served pastas with a lot of sauce. There was always a big pasta dish filled with pasta and a light coating of sauce. I really enjoyed it that way. You do not lose the flavor of the pasta.
Back to work now!
10-15 cloves fresh garlic sliced thin lengthwise.
6 tbls extra virgin olive oil
1 onion roughly chopped
2 lbs tomatoes(blanched, peeled, seeded and chopped) I used our fresh beefsteak and a couple heirlooms.
1 cup wine
1/2 can tomato sauce (i think it a 32oz can)
1 tbls tomato paste
3-4 pinches sugar
1 package dried portobello mushrooms(re-constituted)
Note: to blanch tomatoes cut an "X" on the bottom, drop in boiling water for 1 minute, remove and put in a ice bath. After they cool you should be able to peel from bottom side where you cut the "X"
Note2: Peeling, seeding and chopping was no fun! It was quite messy and your hands get very slippery. I have no advice on how to do this. All tomatoes seem to be a little different as far seed quantity, location and how juicy they are. Now I see why people used the can stuff!
I used our big LeCruset pot and heated the oil until it was barely smoking. I then added the onion and let saute for 3-4 minutes, followed by the garlic. After this your whole kitchen will smell wonderful! I then added all the tomatoes and wine and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Since I wanted to make a gravy I need a little more liquid so I added the tomato sauce. I also added the sugar and the tomato paste at this point. I ended up letting it simmer on low for 3-4 hours using my smallest burner. I then took my trusty Braun hand mixer and proceeded to mix it into a thick gravy. This part I just eyeballed it until I was happy with the consistency.
While putting some stuff back in the fridge I saw a package of dried portobellos that needed to be used. I re-constituted them, chopped them then added to the sauce. It gave the sauce a really earthy tone to it!
Erin came home with some fresh linguini and ricotta raviolis from Mona Lisa Restaurant/Store in Little Italy. I made my fresh garlic bread and we were all set. I thought the sauce was really good. You really do a get a different taste from the fresh tomatoes. We like the idea of the gravy also. A lot of people bury their pasta in the suace. Due to a trip to Italy Erin and I took in 2006 we became intersted in the gravy type sauces.
Backstory: I ride a Ducati motorcycle and we were there for the Ducati Club World Presidents Meeting. Ducati supplied us with motorcycles, room and board all we had to do was buy the tickets and bring spending money. It was quite an opportunity. I had only known Erin for about 3 monthe before I asked her to go! We basically rode from Bologna, through umbria, out to the costal town of Rimini then to Rome. After Rome we rode up near Florence then back to Bologna. It seems quick but it was done over a 2-1/2 week time period. While there we had a lot of "homestyle" meals at the places we were staying. They never served pastas with a lot of sauce. There was always a big pasta dish filled with pasta and a light coating of sauce. I really enjoyed it that way. You do not lose the flavor of the pasta.
Back to work now!
1 comment:
Looks like a great sauce! You can't beat homegrown tomatoes!
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