TartQueen's Kitchen

When I was younger – much younger – I was an avid Nancy Drew Mysteries reader.  I think I had 20 or so of the books.  My goal at the time was to read through all of them (I think there were 55 at the time).  I never made that goal, but I did get one thing so much cooler – The Nancy Drew Cookbook.

One of my first and most treasured cookbooks.

It’s one of three cookbooks I received from my mom that I absolutely treasure.  The other two are The Little House Cookbook (based on recipes from the Little House books) and Mom’s first cookbook, Wendy’s Kitchen Debut. I may give away or sell my other cookbooks, but I’ll be buried with these.

There was a recipe in Nancy Drew that I really wanted to try. In Chapter 6 –  Album of International Recipes – I came across a recipe called “Italian Salsa di Pomodoro”.  Not knowing what the Italian meant, I read the recipe anyway and figured out it was spaghetti sauce. It was so different from the sauce that Mom made (hers is a wonderful amalgamation of sauce and lots of vegetables; sometimes, she would make meatballs, too). This was just a simple unadorned sauce.

The first time I made it, I think I burned the onions.  I still finished the sauce and the family gamely ate it.  I’ve since gotten better.

This book was also responsible for the infamous “A Keene Soup”, or, as my family called it, Peanut Butter Soup.  It was not a success. In fact, it was really gross. They’ve never let me live it down. I don’t blame them.

However, the “Old Attic Stuffed Tomato” and “Flag Cake Symbol” from Chapter 5 – “Nancy Tells Her Holiday Secrets” were pretty successful. I liked the stuffing so much that I was nibbling on it while I was making the recipe. That’s when Mom had to point out to me that eating raw sausage wasn’t a good idea.

Back to the sauce: as I progressed as a cook, I set aside this little book, but I always remembered the base of this recipe – onion, tomato, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar – and decided to make my own sauce recipe that would be simple, quick, and versatile.  I think this sauce is it.  I’ve used it as a base for Red Clam Sauce, added Italian Sausage, added shrimp, made Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, as a pizza sauce, etc. The list is extensive.

A few notes:

1.  If you can’t find or don’t want to use fresh basil, you can use any other fresh herb you prefer.  Just be judicious with the amount. For example, if you use too much oregano, your sauce will taste like soap.  Always begin with less than you think you need.  You can always add, but you can’t take out.

2.  You can also use dried herbs in this recipe.  Begin with 1 teaspoon and add it when you add the red pepper flakes to the onion & garlic.

3.  You can add any protein to this sauce.  Just add it when you add the fresh basil at the end.  If it’s something like sausage, be sure to cook it before adding to the sauce.  If it’s fish or shellfish, you can add it raw, but just make sure it’s cut into small enough pieces that the heat of the sauce will cook it through.

4.  This recipe makes a lot of sauce.  It freezes well and can be frozen for 3-4 months.

The Ingredients

From top left: red pepper flakes, kosher salt, ground black pepper, sugar, garlic cloves

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, minced

4 cl. garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

1 28-oz. can whole or chopped tomatoes, with their juice

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Sugar to taste

Water or vegetable broth, as needed

1 bunch fresh basil, torn into small pieces or cut into julienne

1 lb. pasta of your choice, cooked according to the package directions

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onion begins to soften, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Stir frequently.

Sautéing the onion and garlic

2.  Add the red pepper flakes (and dried herbs, if using) and saute for another 1 – 2 minutes.

Adding the pepper flakes

Lower heat to medium and add the tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until the paste begins to take on a burnt-orange color. (If the paste begins to stick to the bottom or becomes too brown, add a little water or broth.)

The tomato paste turns burnt orange as you cook it because you’re cooking the sugars in the tomato.  It adds a little sweetness to the sauce and helps smooth out some of the heavy flavor of the paste.

3.  Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes (with their juice), 1/2 teaspoon each salt, pepper, and sugar.  If the sauce is very thick, add some water or broth to thin it a bit. (Be careful, there will be some spatter as the sauce begins to bubble.)

Adding everything else.

Lower the heat to medium-low, partially cover, and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir frequently.

Cooking the sauce. I know I said partially cover. So, do as I say, not as I do.

4.  Meanwhile, make the pasta.  Cook until al dente, drain, and set aside.

5.  After the first 30 minutes, take the sauce off the heat. If you like, mash down any whole tomatoes left with a potato masher and taste for seasoning.

After 30 minutes.

I like to use whole tomatoes in my sauce, so I’ll take the potato masher when the sauce has cooked and break them down.

Stir in the basil and let it simply infuse into the sauce for at least 15 minutes.  If you are adding any protein, add it when you stir in the basil.  Taste for seasoning again.

The basil stirred in and infusing. Now is also the time you would add any additional protein. The residual heat from the sauce will cook most small shellfish and heat through any already cooked meat.

In general, you can serve this with any cheese you prefer (unless you’re making this into a seafood sauce; in that case, cheese is verboten), but I usually just use Parmesan.

Without Parmesan. In this example, I added meatballs to the sauce at Husband Steve’s request.

Dressed with Parmesan.

Buon Appetito!

Addendum: A quick julienne primer

In this recipe, you can most certainly simply tear the basil leaves and add them to the sauce.  However, I like to cut them into a julienne.  Basically cutting the basil into very thin strips.

You can use this technique for many different herbs and vegetables.

First: Stack some basil leaves together

Second: Roll the basil into a tight roll.

Third: With a very sharp knife, cut the roll lengthwise into very this strips.

Forth: Separate the strips by basically working the roll apart with your fingers.

Now, it’s ready to add to your recipe.

I have to admit, sometimes, in this wanna-be low-carb world, I just want to enjoy a big bowl of pasta. It’s quick, easy, satisfying, and filling. But, of course, as always and most importantly, delicious.

So, I’m going to introduce you to one of my & Husband Steve’s favorite pasta dishes. Pasta alla Puttanesca.

Pasta alla Puttanesca literally translates into “Whores’ Pasta”.  Its origin myths are a bit murky, but by most accounts, it’s a dish that dates back only about 50 – 60 years and was most likely created in southern Italy.

Some say the dish was invented by an Italian restaurateur who had an influx of customers near closing time one evening and threw together what he had left over – some olives, tomatoes, and peppers. Another origin story is that is was named “puttanesca” because it was easy and everything went into it. A third story is “decent” Italian housewives made this sauce with whatever they had laying around and threw it at ladies of the night while screaming “puttana!”.

I’m not so sure about the third one. But, who knows?

This is an easy dish.  From prep to eating, it takes no more than 45 minutes.

A few notes:

1.  Since there are no true hard and fast rules for this dish – except that it must have the tomatoes, olives, and peppers – you can add or remove ingredients as you like.  That being said, I like to think I’ve at least stayed with the spirit of the original recipe.

2.  Some recipes have anchovies, some don’t. If you want to make this dish vegetarian/vegan, certainly omit the anchovies.

3.  It’s also very important to at least roughly chop the olives.  Even if you do buy olives that say “pitted”, pits will happen.  The chopping will help you find any before your guests or family do.

4.  Be sure to taste the finished sauce before adding any additional salt. The olives are in brine, the anchovies are salted, and the capers are either in brine or salt.  While you can rinse the excess saltiness off the olives and capers, some salt will still be there.

5.  Occasionally, I like to use some of the oil from the anchovy jar with the olive oil. I really like anchovies.

The Ingredients

From top left: red pepper flakes, salt-cured capers, olive oil, garlic, anchovies

It’s important to at least roughly chop the olives, even if they’re pitted. Sometimes, pits will still happen. It’s better you find them during prep than your family or guests to find them during dinner.

1 lb. spaghetti

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 – 10 anchovy filets, minced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes (with their juice)

1 1/2 c. pitted black or mixed black and green olives, roughly chopped

2 tbsp. capers, rinsed

Salt to taste

Parmesan, fresh grated

1.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain and set aside.

2.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, pepper flakes, and anchovies.  Saute for 1 – 2 minutes.

Sauteing the garlic, red pepper flakes, and anchovies. The anchovies will melt right down. Lovely.

3.  Add the tomatoes, capers, and olives.  Lower the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You want some of the liquid from the tomatoes to evaporate and the sauce to thicken slightly.

Adding the tomatoes, capers, and olives.

4.  Take the skillet off the heat and toss the spaghetti in the sauce.  Taste for salt (you’ll very likely not need it).

Tossing the pasta with the sauce. Take your time with this step. You want to be sure to coat the pasta and mix in everything as thoroughly as possible.

Serve with a generous helping of Parmesan.

Buon Appetito!

Sometimes, the best inspirations come from nowhere.  There I was – car in the shop, little food in the house, and I was hungry.

I came across some pasta, parsley, and eggs.  So,  I thought, why the hell not.

Here is the result.

**************************************

This recipe is written for 1 person, but it’s easily multiplied.

Pappardelle with Poached Egg

The Ingredients

4 oz. dried pappardelle

1 egg

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 c. chopped parsley (it doesn’t matter if it’s curly or flat-leaf)

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese

1.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente.  Save about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.  Set aside.

2.  Poach the egg:  To poach an egg, you’ll need a small saucepan filled with about 2″ of water.  Add in 1 teaspoon of white vinegar for every cup of water you use.

The vinegar I prefer to use when I poach eggs. The acid in the vinegar helps the egg whites to firm up in the water.

Crack your egg into a small bowl and set aside.  Doing this will help you to remove any shell fragments, keep the yolk from breaking, and is a whole lot less dangerous that trying to break an egg over a steaming pot of water.

Egg in a bowl.

When the water comes to a boil, hold the bowl as close as you can over the water without burning yourself and carefully slide the egg into the water.

Getting ready to slide the egg into the boiling water.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. And, with a large spoon, carefully gather the white around the yolk until it begins to solidify.  Then leave it to cook.

The poaching egg. It looks almost ethereal.

For a soft-poached egg, cook it about 3 minutes; for a medium egg, 4-5 minutes, for a hard poach, 7 – 8 minutes.

Carefully remove the egg from the hot water with a slotted spoon and set aside.

3.  In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the parsley and  stir for about 15 seconds.

Cooking parsley in butter.

Add the reserved pasta water and bring to a boil.  Add the pasta to the skillet and toss until it’s coated with the parsley and butter sauce.  Remove from the heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

4.  Place the pasta on a plate or in a pasta bowl.  Nestle the poached egg on top.  Sprinkle with a little more chopped parsley, if you like, and some fresh grated Parmesan.

I’ll bet you’re hungry now.

Scrumptious.

Pasta (or Spaghetti) alla Puttanesca, otherwise known as “Whore’s Spaghetti” (although you don’t have to tell the kids that), is a recipe with a slightly murky origin story. One of the more popular origin myths was that it was made up by a cook in a brothel who had very little to work with, so threw what she could find into a pot, cooked it, and served it with spaghetti.

That’s the story I always heard, anyway.  Well, apparently, it’s not true.

Many signs point to the dish actually originating in the mid-20th Century.  The first known reference to “spagehetti alla puttanesca” in Raffaele La Capria’s Ferito a Morte (Mortal Wound), a 1961 Italian novel.

in 2005, a restaurant owner named Sandro Petti claimed he invented the recipe for “Puttanesca” in the 1950’s.

According to Wikipedia (and several other sources):

“The moment of inspiration came, when near closing one evening, Petti found a group of customers sitting at one of his tables. Petti was low on ingredients and told them he didn’t have enough to make them a meal. They complained that it was late and they were hungry. “Facci una puttanata qualsiasi (Make any kind of garbage),” they insisted. In this usage, puttanata is an Italian noun meaning something worthless. It derives from the Italian word for whore, puttana.

At the time, Petti had nothing more than four tomatoes, two olives and some capers; the basic ingredients for the sugo. “So I used them to make the sauce for the spaghetti,” Petti told Cuomo.

Later, Petti included this dish on his menu as spaghetti alla puttanesca.”

Makes sense. Almost like the origin of Nachos.

The sauce on its own is called “sugo alla puttanesca” and the ingredients will differ slightly from region to region.  In Napoli, they don’t use anchovies.  While, in Lazio, they are used along with chile peppers.  However it’s made, it’s a very popular dish throughout Italy.

Now, to the recipe:

******************************

The main reasons I like this dish are its ease of preparation and its taste.  I’m an advocate of strong-tasting food and this sauce certainly fits that criteria.

And, yes. This dish is very efficacious.

As always, a few notes:

1.  Whatever regional variations there are for this dish, the constants always are olives, capers, and tomatoes.

2.  I prefer spaghetti with this dish.  However, you can use linguine, pappardelle, or fettucine as well.  You want to have a pasta that will stand up to the sauce.

3.  Be sure to rinse the capers and olives before you add them to the sauce.  Otherwise, the sauce will be like a salt lick.

4.  Make sure you buy the small capers, not the larger caperberries.

5.  Speaking of olives, save yourself some time and buy already pitted.  Also, be sure to buy brine-cured and not oil-cured.  Oil cured  olives are meant to be eaten out-of-hand.  They don’t really stand up to cooking.

6.  You can use any combination of olives you like.  I generally go with a mix of green and black.  If you can find them in bulk, great.  If you have to buy them in the jar, you’ll more than likely have to rinse off any seasoning included in the oil/brine in the jar.

7.  If you would like to make this sauce vegan or just don’t like anchovies, omit them.  For my part, though, the more the merrier.

The Ingredients

2 tbsp. olive oil

4 – 6 large cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes, more or less to taste

3 tbsp. capers, rinsed

6 anchovy fillets, chopped

2 c. pitted olives, very roughly chopped

1 28-oz can tomatoes

Salt & Pepper to taste, very judiciously used

1 lb. pasta

Parmigiano Reggiano

Mixed olives. Roughly chopped.

Capers. Rinsed.

Anchovies. Ready to be chopped.

1.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic just begins to brown.

Garlic and chile flakes sauteing. Smelling great, by the way.

2.  Add the capers and cook for 2 – 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Adding the capers.

3.  Add the anchovies and cook another 2 – 3 minutes, again stirring frequently.

Adding the anchovies. They’ll just melt into the sauce.

4.  Add the olives.  Cook another 3 – 5 minutes.

Adding the olives. Now things are really starting to look good.

5.  Add the tomatoes.  Mix well.  Let the sauce just come to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium-low.  Cook the sauce for 20 – 25 minutes until it thickens slightly.  Stir occasionally.

Adding the tomatoes. Now, it looks like a sauce.

Once the sauce begins to bubble up, turn the heat down to medium-low.

6.  Meanwhile, make the pasta according to the package directions.

**At this point you can do 1 of 2 things.  You can either save a cup of the pasta water just before you drain the pasta and use it if you decide to toss the pasta and sauce together (it will loosen the sauce so it will combine with the pasta more easily); or, simply drain the pasta and spoon the sauce over just as you get ready to serve.

In this example, I chose just to spoon some sauce over the pasta.

7.  After 20 – 25 minutes, remove the sauce from the heat, taste for seasoning, combine with the pasta however you choose, and serve with some grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

The sauce after cooking. Notice how it’s thicker. If you decide to add salt and/or pepper, do so judiciously.

Dinner!

Buon Appetito!

While I love to cook any time of year, unfortunately, it’s a little more difficult in the throes of a central Texas summer.  The thought of turning on the oven or the stove makes me want to stick my head in the freezer.  So, while it may not always be possible to avoid the extra kitchen heat, it can be minimized.

And one of those ways is making some pesto.

Pesto originated in Genoa in the northern Italian province of Liguria.  The name comes from Italian word pestare  (Genoese: pesta) meaning “to crush; to pound”.  It is traditionally made with garlic, basil, and pine nuts blended with olive oil, Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese), and Fiore Sardo (cheese made from sheep’s milk).

The ancient Romans ate a paste called moretum, which was made by crushing cheese, garlic and herbs together. Basil, the main ingredient of modern pesto, likely originated in India and was first domesticated there. Basil took the firmest root in the regions of Liguria, Italy and Provence, France. The Ligurians around Genoa took the dish and adapted it, using a combination of basil, crushed garlic, grated cheese, and pine nuts with a little olive oil to form pesto. The first mention of recipe for pesto as it is known today, is from the book La Cuciniera Genovese written in 1863 by Giovanni Battista Ratto.

While pesto was introduced in the US is the 1940’s, it didn’t become popular until the 1980’s.

(some information from wikipedia.org and thenibble.com)

The pestos I’m showing you today aren’t the traditional recipe that many have come to know and love.  While I’m very serious about traditional recipes, sometimes experimentation isn’t a bad thing.

Now, on to the recipes.

***********************************

A few notes:

1.  Splurge and buy the freshest ingredients you can.  And that includes buying imported cheeses.  While America makes many wonderful cheeses, we aren’t too good with hard Italian cheeses.  Since pesto is essentially a raw product, you want the best.

2.  I don’t recommend using oil-packed/cured sun-dried tomatoes.  They’re usually flavored and I can’t control the amount of oil in the pesto.  Plus, somehow, they always taste cooked. Buy plain sun-dried and you won’t be sorry.

3.  You’ll no doubt notice in the instructions that I use a food processor for these recipes.  It is simply for ease in preparation.  If you feel like going all traditional, go for it.  But, it’d be a safe bet to say those tomatoes would be a bitch to beat down with a mortar and pestle.

Also, I keep the processor running through most of the prep.  This helps greatly when adding the “harder” ingredients like the garlic and nuts.  If you add them to the bowl and then turn on the processor, you won’t get a fine or consistent chop, which is what you want.

4.  When I serve these pestos, I always have some extra cheese on hand, some minced parsley (for the sun-dried tomato) and some halved cherry tomatoes (for the cilantro).  You don’t have to have these, but I thought I’d pass it along.

5.  As we all know, pesto is good on so many other things than just pasta.  Spread it on bread, use as a dip for vegetables, top grilled meats, seafood, or vegetables.

6.  Pesto will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.  I don’t recommend freezing.

Cilantro Pesto

The Ingredients

Toasted pine nuts. These aren’t inexpensive, so watch them very carefully. If they begin to small like popcorn when you’re roasting, you’ve gone too far.

4 -6 cloves garlic, depending on size

1/2 c. pine nuts, roasted (350F for 3 – 5 minutes)

-or-

1/4 c. raw, unsalted pistachios

1/4 c. walnuts

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 c.  Romano cheese, fresh grated

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, fresh grated

2 – 3 bunches cilantro, depending on size, large stems removed (It’s OK to have some stem. No need to pick the leaves.)

Juice of 1/2 lemon (approx. 1 1/2 tsp.)

1/4 c. olive oil, more if needed

Salt & pepper to taste

1.  Have your food processor running.  Drop the garlic through the feed tube and chop. Add the pine nuts and pepper flakes.

The garlic, pepper flakes, and pine nuts in the food processor.

Turn off the processor, remove the lid, and add the cheeses, salt and pepper.  Turn on the processor again and let the cheese mix in.

The cheese has been added. I could spread this on toast at this point.

2. Again, with the processor running, push the cilantro down the feed tube.

The trimmed cilantro. Seriously. Just make sure you discard any brown or slimy leaves. Oh, yeah. And wash it, too.

Pushing the cilantro down the feed tube.

Add the oil and lemon juice.

Adding the oil.

Continue processing until the mixture becomes a paste.  Add more oil if you want a thinner pesto.

Beautiful.

3.  Taste for seasoning and adjust to your liking.

*****

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

The ingredients

Sun-Dried Tomatoes ready for their close-up.

Shredded Parmesan and Romano.

Toasted pecans. Again, nuts aren’t inexpensive, so take care when roasting.

3/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed; see note above)

1/2 c. roasted pecans (350F for 5 – 7 minutes)

4 cloves garlic

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 c. Romano cheese, shredded

1/4 c. olive oil, more if needed

Juice of 1 lemon (approx. 1 tbsp.)

Salt & Pepper to taste

1.  Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let the tomatoes sit for 20 minutes.

Soaking the tomatoes. Reserve some of the soaking liquid when you get ready to drain them.

Drain the tomatoes, reserving some of the soaking liquid. Set aside.

The soaked tomatoes.

2.  Have a food processor running and drop the garlic down the feed tube.  Let it chop.  Add the pecans the same way.

Adding the pecans to the garlic.

Turn off the processor and add the cheeses, salt and pepper.  Again, process until everything is mixed.

3.  With the processor running, add the tomatoes down the feed tube.

Adding the tomatoes.

Pour in the oil and lemon juice.  Turn off the processor and check for seasoning and consistency.  If the pesto is too thick, add a little of the soaking water  or oil and process until it becomes the consistency you like.

Mmm…

The most common way to serve pesto is over pasta.  So, cook your pasta of choice according to the directions.  Be sure to save some of the pasta water before you drain the pasta.

I generally like to place a serving of the pasta in a medium bowl, spoon over the amount of pesto I want, and begin to toss them together.  I’ll use some of the pasta water if I need to.

I’ll place the pasta on the plate, garnish a little, and serve.

The completely optional garnishes: Tomatoes for the Cilantro Pesto; Parsley for the Tomato Pesto; Cheese for both.

Serving Suggestion #1

Serving Suggestion #2.

Enjoy! Buon Appetito!

The humble tomato. One of our favorite  nightshade family fruits used as a vegetable. It’s hard to imagine now how it was once considered at best a trash food, and, at worst, poisonous.

**********

A brief history (via www.wikipedia.org)

Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica used tomatoes in their cooking. The exact date of domestication is unknown; however,  by 500 BCE, it was already being cultivated in southern Mexico. The large, lumpy tomato, a mutation from a smoother, smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be the direct ancestor of some modern cultivated tomatoes.

There is some specualtion as to whether it was Christopher Columbus or Hernán Cortés was the first European to transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared  in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who suggested that a new type of “eggplant” had been brought to Italy that was blood red or golden color when mature and could be eaten like an eggplant—cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oil. However it wasn’t until ten years later that tomatoes were named in print by Mattioli as pomi d’oro, or “golden apple”.

The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources. In northern areas of Italy, however, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration before it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century.

The first recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to October 31, 1548 when the house steward of the de’ Medici family wrote to the Medici private secretary informing him that the basket of tomatoes sent from the family’s Florentine estate at Torre del Gallo “had arrived safely.” Tomatoes were grown mainly as ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. The Florentine aristocrat Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they “were to be sought only for their beauty” and were grown only in gardens or flower beds. The tomato’s ability to mutate and create new and different varieties helped contribute to its success and spread throughout Italy. However, even in areas where the climate supported growing tomatoes, their proximity of growing to the ground suggested low status. They were not adopted as a staple of the peasant population because they were not as filling as other fruits already available. Additionally, both toxic and inedible varieties discouraged many people from attempting to consume or prepare them.

Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s. One of the earliest cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon. Gerard’sHerbal, published in 1597, and largely plagiarized from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy.  Nonetheless, he believed it was poisonous.  Gerard’s views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North American colonies. By the mid-18th century, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain, and before the end of that century, the Encyclopædia Britannica stated the tomato was “in daily use” in soups, broths, and as a garnish.

The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East/Asia by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo circa 1799 to 1825. Nineteenth century descriptions of its consumption are uniformly as an ingredient in a cooked dish. In 1881, it is described as only eaten in the region “within the last forty years”.

The tomato entered Iran through two separate routes; one was through Turkey and Armenia, and the other was through the Qajar royal family’s frequent travels to France. The early name used for tomato in Iran was Armani badenjan (Armenian eggplant). Currently, the name used for tomato in Iran is gojeh farangi [French plum].

The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in British North America is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is today South Carolina, where they were introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and likely in other parts of the Southeast as well. Possibly, some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America.

Alexander W. Livingston was the first person who succeeded in upgrading the wild tomato, developing different breeds and stabilizing the plants. In the 1937 yearbook of the Federal Department of Agriculture, it was declared that “half of the major varieties were a result of the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the tomato”. Livingston’s first breed of tomato, the Paragon, was introduced in 1870. In 1875, he introduced the Acme, which was said to be involved in the parentage of most of the tomatoes introduced by him and his competitors for the next twenty-five years.

When Alexander W. Livingston had begun his attempts to develop the tomato as a commercial crop, his aim had been to grow tomatoes smooth in contour, uniform in size and having better flavor.  After five years, the fruit became fleshier and larger. In 1870, Alexander introduced the Paragon and tomato culture began at once to be a great enterprise of the county. Today, the crop is grown in every state in the Union. He eventually developed over seventeen different varieties of the tomato plant.

And… thus  the birth of the  homoginization of the tomato.

Luckily, that’s changing rapidly as heirloom varieties are now becoming more readily avilable.

************************

This recipe is one of my favorites not only because of its ease of preparation and the fact that it’s delicious, but because of its long cooking time.

Yes. You read that right.

This is a recipe that requires a very long cooking time.  At least 6 hours.

I know what some of you are thinking. What?! That’s insane! What do you mean by this being a good thing?

Trust me.  It is.  Because I can put this in the oven on a low, slow cook, walk away, and forget about it for a few hours. I can get on with my day.

Now, admittedly, some of you don’t feel comfortable leaving your oven on all day without someone at home to monitor it.  And that’s fine.  You can certainly roast the tomatoes over a weekend day and save them until later in the week for a quick weeknight supper.

Now, to the recipe:

*********************

A few notes:

a) I generally use Roma tomatoes in this recipe.  This particular variety of tomato is meant to be cooked because of it’s meatiness. (It’s typically used in sauces and pastes.) They’re also available year-round.

b) Feel free to use whatever spices and herbs you like for this.  However, due to the long cooking time, I recommend using dried herbs.  If you’d like to use fresh herbs, mix them into the roasted tomatoes and pasta at the end.

c) Feel free to use what ever pasta you like.  I like to use orecchiette (meaning “little ears” in Italian) because the shape of the pasta holds so much of the sauce that comes from roasting the tomatoes.  However, if you would like to use another pasta, I would recommend using a shaped pasta as opposed to a straight pasta like spaghetti or pappardelle.

d) You can roast the tomatoes in advance and keep them in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days.  Just heat them up slowly as you cook the pasta, then, mix them together when the pasta is done.

e) If you like, you can mix in a little protein to the tomatoes and pasta just before you serve.  Spicy Italian sausage works well.

The ingredients

5 – 6 lb. Roma tomatoes, seeded, stem end cut out

1/2 c. olive oil

Assorted herbs and spices, as much or as little as you like

Seasonings I used. Clockwise from top: Sugar, Black Pepper, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Italian Seasoning Blend

1 lb. Orecchiette, or other shaped pasta

Grated Romano cheese

1.  Turn on your oven to 200F – 250F (depends on how fast you want to cook your tomatoes). Take a very large baking dish (mine is 12″ x 18″), and, if you like, give it a quick spritz with some non-stick spray.

2.  Cut the blossom end off and cut the  tomatoes in half along their equator. Give each of the halves a squeeze and use your fingers to remove as many of the seeds as possible.

Cleaning out the tomatoes. Not a pretty job.

The cleaned tomato.

Take the discarded seeds and use them in the compost pile or save for seeds for the garden.

3.  Place the cleaned halves in the baking dish.  Try to make sure you have a single layer.

Tomatoes in the baking dish ready for seasoning.

4.  Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Drizzling over the olive oil

Sprinkle over the seasonings.  Again, use as much or as little of what you like.  Carefully toss the tomatoes to completely coat them in the oil and seasonings.

Tomatoes ready for the oven.

5.  Now, bake the tomatoes for at least 6 hours.  You can go as long as you like, depending on your oven temperature and how roasted you want your tomatoes.

I generally bake my tomatoes at 225F for about 8-10 hours.  I like them pretty well reduced.

With the amount of tomatoes you are roasting, unless they are very dry (and some may be, especially in the winter), you will end up with a lot of juices in the pan.  Embrace that.  Makes a great natural sauce for the pasta along with the tomatoes.

6.  After the tomatoes have roasted for at least 6 hours, check them.  Stir if you like. At this point, you can take the tomatoes out of the oven or continue to roast further.

The roasted tomatoes.

7.  After the tomatoes are out of the oven, cook your chosen pasta according to the package directions until al dente.  Drain and put back into the cooking pot.

8.  Meanwhile, cut or chop the tomatoes.  I like doing this with a pair of kitchen shears.  It’s just easier and a whole lot less messy.

Cutting the tomatoes

9.  Pour the tomatoes and juice into the cooking pot with the pasta and mix together.

Pasta and tomatoes ready to eat

If you like, sprinkle on some Romano Cheese.  I find it works well with the roasted flavor of the tomatoes.

Dinner!

Enjoy!

Ragú.  The word has been part of the American food lexicon since 1969. (The brand was started by a cheese importer Giovanni Cantisano and his wife Assunta in 1937 in New York. They sold the brand to Chesebrough-Ponds in 1969 for $43.8M.)  Most people know it as the original sauce in a jar (other than Chef Boyardee).  It has, admittedly, been the lifesaver of many a harried mom trying to put a hot meal on the table, college students looking for a cheap meal, and a quick substitute for pizza sauce.

However, I’m here to tell you, that isn’t real ragú.  A real ragú, as any prideful Italian will tell you, is a meat sauce that originated in the Emilia-Romanga region of Italy.  It’s not a brand name.

There are literally thousands of written recipes now for ragú.  In fact, since the original recipe was never written down, no one can say for sure that they know what the original recipe even was. It comes in many variations that are specific to the region where the recipe is developed (a very common thing still in Italy).  Recipes can be with or without tomatoes, include all different types of meats or poultry, contain offal, and be made with or without wine and/or milk.

According to culinary historians, Ragù alla Bolognese follows the origin of ragús in Italian cuisine. The first known reference to ragù as a pasta sauce dates to the  late 18th century, and originated in Imola, near to the city of Bologna.  The first recipe for a meat sauce characterized as being Bolognese came from Pellegrino Artusi and was included in his cookbook published in 1891. Artusi’s recipe, Maccheroni alla bolognese, is believed to have originated from the middle 19th century when he spent considerable time in Bologna.

Artusi’s sauce called for predominantly lean veal filet along with pancetta, butter, onion, and carrot. The meats and vegetables were to be finely minced, cooked with butter until the meats browned, then covered and cooked with broth. Artusi added the sauce could be enhanced by adding dried mushrooms, truffle slices, or finely chopped chicken liver. He further added that when the sauce was completely done you could add as a final touch half a glass of cream to make an even more delicate dish.

In the century-plus since Artusi wrote and published his recipe for Maccheroni alla Bolognese (maccheroni being a catch-all word for pasta in Artusi’s time), what is now ragù alla bolognese has evolved with the cuisine of the Emilia-Romagna region. Most notable is the preferred choice of pasta, which today is widely accepted as fresh tagliatelle (a wide, flat pasta). Another reflection of the evolution of the cuisine over the past 150 years is the addition of tomato, either as a puree or as a concentrated paste, or both, to the original mix of ingredients. Similarly, both wine and milk appear today in the list of ingredients in many of the contemporary recipes, and beef has mostly replaced veal as the preferred protein.

While the number of recipe and ingredient variations are significant, there are characteristic commonalities. Garlic is absent from all of the recipes. So are herbs other than the limited use of Bay leaves in some recipes. Seasoning is limited to salt, pepper and the occasional addition of nutmeg. In all of the recipes meat is the principal ingredient, and while tomatoes are included they are only used as an enhancement to the meat.

(Some historical information from www.wikipedia.org; and The Food Chronology, James Trager, Owl Books, 1995)

***************************

Now, to the recipe.

The Ingredients

Ragú is actually quite easy to make.  It is a sauce that requires patience, however.  From start to finish, this sauce takes about 3 – 3 1/2 hours to prepare.  So, it’s not something you can start when you get home from work.  Nor would I recommend it for the crock pot.  However, you can make extra over the weekend or your days off.  It freezes beautifully.

This particular ragú recipe that I’m using is an adaptation of a recipe I love from Fine Cooking Magazine’s Real Italian Collection (Taunton Press, 2010).

3 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 lb. Prosciutto, thick cut, diced (keep the fat cap on.  It adds a lot of flavor to the final dish)

1 sm. onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1 lb. ground pork

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 c. dry white wine

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste)

28 oz can crushed tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Fire Roasted)

1 c. beef or chicken broth

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 c. whole milk or half & half

1 lb. Pappardelle, Tagliatelle, or other flat, wide pasta

1.  Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or Dutch oven.  Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, to crisp the prosciutto slightly and to help render the fat.

The prosciutto. Keep the fat cap. It adds a lot of flavor to the final dish.

Cooking the prosciutto & rendering the fat. Yummy.

2.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery.

The classic mirepoix. Or, in Italian, soffritto.

Saute the vegetables with the prosciutto until they are soft and slightly browned.  About 8 – 10 minutes.  Stir frequently.

Sauteing the vegetables.

Just before adding the ground pork. Note how the vegetables have softened and slightly browned.

3.  Add the ground pork.  Cook until the pork is no longer pink.  it doesn’t need to be browned.  Just have the pink cooked out.

After the pork has been added and cooked.

4.  Add in the tomato paste, white wine, and pepper flakes.  Cook until the paste has been mixed in and the most of the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

After the wine, tomato paste, and pepper flakes have been added.

5.  Add the crushed tomatoes, beef or chicken broth, and some salt & pepper.

**Take care not to add too much salt.  The prosciutto and the broth (if you’re using commercially made) will already have salt.  If you want to omit it until later in the cooking process, go ahead.  You can always add more in later, but you can’t take it out.

Right after adding the tomatoes, broth, and salt & pepper.

Cover the saucepan or Dutch oven and bring the sauce to a boil.  Then, uncover, turn the heat to low, and simmer the sauce for 2 hours.  Stirring occasionally.  The flavors will mellow and mesh together as the sauce cooks.

After 30 minutes.

After 1 hour. This is usually the earliest point where I start tasting for seasoning.

After 90 minutes. Begin stirring more frequently. Again, check the seasoning.

At 2 hours. Notice how the sauce has thickened up and become darker in color.

6.  Add the milk or half & half.  Mix in and continue cooking the sauce for a further 30 minutes.  Stir frequently.

The ragú right after adding the milk.

7.  Meanwhile, cook the pasta.  Use a pot large enough to cook the pasta properly (i.e. keep it from sticking together in the pot) and use salted water.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions to al dente (“to the teeth”).  Drain and set aside.

(I generally don’t rinse my pasta.  I think the starch is important to helping the sauce stick to the pasta. Plus, rinsing pasta loses some of the flavor.  If you want to rinse your pasta, please don’t tell me about it.)

8.  After the final 30 minutes of cooking, remove the ragú from the heat and taste for seasoning one more time.  Serve with the pasta.  If you want to have some Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano as well, go ahead.  I generally don’t.

Buon Appetito!