Garden-Fresh Tomato Sauce

August 20, 2015August 24, 2015 Organic GloryLeave a comment

Georgia’s party was this past weekend! The weather was gorgeous, the party was a success, and mama is tired. This is a recipe I made last week, while trying to use up even more of our garden tomatoes, which are ripening at the rate of dozens per day (!!) I like a chunky sauce but in this heat I don’t want to simmer it for hours, so I use a base to get me started, then just add tomatoes, fresh basil and seasonings. This time, I decided to see how shallots in butter would taste as a foundation for a quick summer tomato sauce, and I really liked the way it turned out. Here’s the recipe!

I chose to make it with frozen turkey meatballs from Trader Joe’s mixed into the sauce, with a side salad featuring additional tomatoes from our garden. Greens were just one head of romaine that I picked up at a sidewalk stand on my way home. The pasta pictured is penne, but you can use anything.

Garden-Fresh Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 12-oz. (1 lb) can of crushed tomatoes as a base
1 package frozen meatballs (or fresh) if using, such as Trader Joe’s
Handful of fresh basil, quantity to your taste, torn into smaller pieces (with stems removed)
1 shallot, peeled and diced, then soaked in water for at least 5 minutes
1 TBSP butter
~ half a dozen fresh tomatoes, sliced and seeds removed (scrape out with a spoon)
salt, pepper and any other seasonings to taste

DIRECTIONS

Place the frozen meatballs in a medium sauce pan if you are making this sauce with them included, then pour in the entire can of crushed tomatoes and heat over medium-low, covered, while you chop the tomatoes from your garden, farmer’s market or CSA. I used between 5 and 6 smaller tomatoes, but eyeball it. You always want to have more sauce than not enough.

Roughly dice your shallot and let it rest in a cup of water that just covers it (yes, I used a baby food bowl!) which helps them to get a little less sharp. In a small skillet, heat a tablespoon (approximately) of butter (or your choice of a substitute spread, such as Smart Balance) over medium-low until melted. Add the shallot to the butter and cook for a few minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper, until translucent. Turn off the heat.

While the can of crushed tomatoes and meatballs simmer, add any seasonings to the sauce pan and keep covered over low while you boil water to cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse under cold water so it stops cooking.

Add the shallots (including the butter) and freshly-torn basil to the sauce. Season with salt, pepper, and your choice of other spices such as garlic powder, oregano, sugar, etc. I used a hearty Italian-style blend. Cover again and let simmer a little while longer. If the sauce looks too thick, add a splash of water or olive oil; if it looks too watery/thin or there isn’t enough, you can do what I did — throw in some leftover pizza sauce, which I always keep on hand — or add more garden tomatoes to bulk it up. Really, this is a very flexible recipe and you can sort of play it by ear!

I like to add in some more freshly shredded basil right at the end, and then more on top of the plate when I serve it. But I REALLY like basil, and there is a LOT in Mark’s garden right now. Pretty much, once the meatballs are cooked through (aka fork tender), this is ready to eat! I don’t mix the pasta and sauce together in one pan, but rather plate the penne and pour some sauce and meatballs over it, and finish with my side of salad. As Georgia says, “deeee-licious!”

You can serve this however you like, with or without a side, and I’d bet you could also add meat to the sauce as well if you wanted to brown some sausage or ground beef up with the shallot. I almost threw in some roasted eggplant, too, but it was so hot I didn’t really want to put on the oven to bake it. Penne was great but any pasta you prefer will do just fine! This came out tasting like I’d simmered it for hours, when in reality it is done as soon as the fresh tomatoes have broken down to your liking. The longer you cook it the more they will fall apart and liquify, but they taste good no matter how chunky you leave them. I myself prefer them to hold a little bit of form. I also added my favorite spaghetti sauce seasoning, the organic blend from Wildtree, which added so much flavor.

I hope you like this! Party photos and recap coming soon!

I can’t believe we have a two year old…this feels like just yesterday (although this doesn’t). Here she is on her birthday, at two minutes, one year, and two:

Carbonara 2.0: company edition

January 23, 2015May 31, 2017 Organic Glory5 Comments

A few weeks ago, we were talking about having a friend over for dinner — his wife, a colleague of Mark’s, is on tour for over a year — and Mark thought it would be really nice to hang out together and cook him a solid, stick-to-your-ribs, home-made, comfort-food dinner. And, since he really wanted to do the cooking himself, he either had to learn a new recipe or amp up the wow factor of his spaghetti carbonara, which is really the only dinner he cooks by himself.

carbonara1

And then! We saw an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives that gave us just the inspiration we were waiting for. So, after putting Georgia to bed one night during vacation, we put our heads together to start recipe testing. And I think we finally made the tweaks that will turn this weeknight staple into a creamier, more decadent dish worthy of company.

Here are the key things we changed:

Cooking the bacon in a tbsp of olive oil instead of relying on bacon fat to grease the pan.
Using a stainless steel pan instead of non-stick, which affects the drippings and the heat level you can use.
Smashing the garlic instead of dicing in a garlic press, which mellows the flavor; we also added it later in the cooking.
Adding wine to the sauteing bacon, but making sure it burns off a bit so the flavor doesn’t overwhelm.
Separating the egg whites and yolks, which allows the whites to impart an airiness to the sauce and prevents the risk of scrambling that arises when you add both to a hot pan. Also, adding yolks to the finished dish makes for an extremely creamy sauce.
Adding a dash of light cream for a thicker sauce and more fancy mouth feel.

carbonara 2 — spaghetti carbonara: notoriously difficult to photograph.

My original recipe for spaghetti carbonara is posted here. I’ll list the new step-by-step directions below. We liked this so much that we are keeping almost every aspect except the cream for our weeknight dinner version! It really takes it to the next level.

Spaghetti Carbonara for Company

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. linguine
1 package good bacon*
1 cup pecorino, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed/smashed
2 TBSP white wine
1/4 to 1/2 cup light cream
2 eggs, whites and yolks separated
olive oil
salt and pepper

* if using high-quality pancetta instead, you’ll need about 4-5 ounces, NOT the equivalent of a 12-oz. package of bacon.

DIRECTIONS

Start by placing a large pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, chop the bacon into a large stainless steel saute pan and add a swirl of olive oil, about 2 TBSP.

When the water boils, add the pasta to the pot, stir to separate, and start cooking the bacon over medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes and then add in the garlic and stir for just a minute. Add the wine and allow to burn off for a couple minutes, then season with plenty of black pepper and finally pour the cream over the pan.

When the pasta is just under-cooked, remove from the pot and add to the pan with the bacon. Stir. Turn off the heat and pour in the egg whites and half the grated cheese. Stir gently.

Just before serving, pour the yolks over the pasta and toss until the sauce it just thickened. Serve topped with the rest of the grated Pecorino cheese!

Ways you can adapt this: use milk instead of light cream, or continue to omit dairy as in my original recipe; serve the egg yolks on top of the pasta or in a nest and allow guests to stir in themselves; add more pepper and/or red pepper flakes to heighten the heat; and of course, you can use high quality pancetta instead of run-of-the-mill bacon to make this even better-suited to a dinner party.

I also know sometimes people like to toss in peas or some other cooked green, like broccolini or spinach, in the same way you would with fettuccine Alfredo. In Italy, pasta is never the main focus of the meal, so my serving recommendation always includes giving each person a small portion of such a heavy pasta, and pairing it with a steamed asparagus, minestrone soup to start, toasted bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with olive oil, or fresh bright greens (mesclun, arugula, etc.) tossed with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt. And of course, with a glass of wine! However you enjoy it, I hope this hits the spot.

Stay tuned for Mark’s Super Bowl recipe, coming soon! And, check out these great ideas for game day snacks in the slow cooker, courtesy of the Today Show. I also saw the following cute idea for serving veggies with dip in individual serving cups at a friend’s baby shower:

Isn’t that clever? you put the dip in the bottom.

Have a great weekend everyone, and stay safe in the storm we are getting up here in Boston. I’ll be here Saturday, and then visiting my mom in the hospital (she is having surgery today ~ keep her in your prayers, please!)

Recipes

Healthy Baked Spaghetti

November 12, 2012 Organic GloryLeave a comment

This is my lightened-up version of a comfort food favorite. Chock full of seasonal vegetables, this dish features reduced-fat cheese as well as vegetarian crumbles instead of ground beef or sausage. And by using gluten-free rice pasta, you reduce that “bloated” feeling you get after eating a heavy pasta meal. I served it with a tasty mixed greens salad tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy this heart-healthy dinner and treat yourself to a glass of white wine with all the calories you’ve saved!

Ingredients

1 package whole wheat or rice pasta
1 onion, chopped
olive oil
cooking spray for your casserole dish
2 cloves garlic, minced
vegetarian meat crumbles (such as Morningstar meal starters)
2 green bell peppers, diced (you could use any color)
salt & Italian seasoning to taste (about 1 tsp.)
1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups mushrooms or another seasonal veggie (I used up a zucchini)
1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup torn basil leaves
3/4 cup water

Directions

Set a large pot of water on to boil. Cook pasta until it’s a few minutes away from being done, as it will continue cooking in the casserole dish and you don’t want it to fall apart. Drain and set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the chopped onion once it’s hot, stirring frequently until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant, and then the vegetarian crumbles. Stir in the bell peppers and the mushrooms (or zucchini, like I did) and Italian seasoning & salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softening (about another 5 minutes).

Add the crushed tomatoes, water, and basil, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and cook, simmering, another 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Preheat the oven to 375 and spray a casserole dish or 9×13 glass baking pan.

Add the pasta to the skillet and toss to combine with the sauce.

Spoon half the spaghetti mixture into the casserole dish, then sprinkle half the cheese on top. Repeat with the other half of the spaghetti and cheese.

Cover loosely with foil sprayed with cooking spray and cook 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. (Don’t let the foil touch the cheese!)

Let stand for five minutes and serve hot.

What makes this healthier:

Not using butter to grease the pan or cook any of the ingredients.
Substituting lower-fat cheese without sacrificing flavor.
Replacing ground beef or sausage with my favorite vegetarian crumbles, by Morningstar (these have not only great flavor but believable texture, which is key for recreating dishes you may have grown up with).
Whole wheat or rice pasta (which I prefer because it’s gluten free, keeping my stomach pain-free with the added bonus of preventing bloat).
Serving with a side salad instead of outdoing your pasta portion!

I really hope you enjoy this. It’s adapted from a Bobby Deen recipe I found in Food Network Magazine, and has made its way into our regular meal rotation.

Recipes

Multi-Grain Spaghetti with Spinach & Chickpeas

December 12, 2011December 13, 2011 Organic Glory5 Comments

I made a whole mess of this on a Saturday night (just like the blogger who inspired my recipe) and had tons of filling leftovers for my upcoming workweek, which promises to be hectic. If I had to do this one over again, I’d probably use that new Philly Cooking Creme to add an extra punch of flavor instead of plain old cream cheese. But, it’s a little bit healthier the way I made it, with a few scoops of lite cream cheese and pasta water as a sauce.

Ingredients

1 package of whole grain pasta (I used Barilla Plus)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced or chopped
1 can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)
1 package frozen spinach, or a couple bunches fresh
Pecorino cheese, freshly grated
Olive oil
A touch of butter for sauteeing
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional: red pepper flakes or chilli flakes, to taste (I used a touch)

Directions

Set pasta to boil. I like Barilla Plus because it has high fiber but tastes almost identical to regular pasta. I used a little less than a whole package (1 lb. of spaghetti).

If you are using frozen spinach, defrost it in the microwave for about four minutes and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add a touch of butter to keep the garlic and onion from burning, then add the chopped onion and minced garlic (because seriously, garlic that burns can ruin your entire dish). Saute 5 minutes.

Add the chickpeas and spinach, stirring. Season with salt and pepper and, if using, red pepper/chilli flakes to taste. Cook, stirring, for several minutes.

Add the cream cheese to the edge of the pan, letting it melt along the edges so that it doesn’t clump up in the middle of the pan as you stir it into the spinach mixture.

Drain pasta and set aside, reserving at least one cup of pasta water.

Add the pasta water bit by bit to the spinach mixture, stirring and adding more as necessary to achieve desired consistency.

Toss with pasta; taste and adjust seasonings (I added more salt and pepper).

Serve with freshly grated pecorino cheese. Voila!

Now, obviously this would taste best with fresh spinach and high-quality olive oil to drizzle on top before serving. But if all you have on hand is a block of frozen spinach and supermarket olive oil for cooking, that’s fine! It’s better to experiment and try new recipes than to hold back because you don’t have premium ingredients. In fact, next time I might even try it with Ricotta to give the dish some light fluffiness. This blog is about appreciating the freshness of natural food, but it’s also about fitting home cooking into your crazed schedule. So go ahead and adapt. And more importantly, enjoy!