FoodFunk.ca

How to make a freakin’ tomato sauce.

Pay attention, tomato fan. The ingredients are pretty straightforward but there’s a technique to this that makes a big difference in the end. And since this is something you’re going to eat, it’s worth it to go to the ends of the world to make it taste good. Thankfully though, this is pretty easy. As always, don’t measure anything, just eyeball it. Measuring stuff kills the fun and also kills kittens. Stop killing kittens.

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Tomato sauce of your hopes and dreams

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 28-oz can of whole tomatoes, or a big bowl of fresh tomatoes, since they’re in season now.

pinch each of salt and pepper

pinch of your favourite Italian herbs such as basil or oregano or both.

Heat a stainless steel pot over medium heat for a couple minutes and add the oil. Add the chopped onion and saute until it’s soft and fragrant and starting to take on some colour. Turn down the heat if it’s starting to brown to quickly. Throw the whole thing out and grab the new Baconator at Wendy’s if the onions burn. After two or three minutes, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds to a minute, and again, Baconator if it burns. Here’s where it gets interesting. Open up your can of tomatoes and reach in with those digits at the end of your hands. Pull out a tomato, cut a slit in it and let the liquid drain back into the can for a couple seconds. Cut the tomato in to three or four pieces (or just bust it up with your fingers a bit) and toss the drained tomato into the pot. Do this for all but three or four of the tomatoes in the can. Initially you can increase the heat to make it boil up but reduce the heat once the tomatoes start to carmelize on the bottom of the pan. This is where the better flavour starts happening. Stir often as the tomatoes carmelize and start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Do this for a good 20 minutes or more, until the whole mixture looks and smells like tomato paste. Add the rest of the tomatoes and all that juice from the can, then pass the whole thing through a food mill (this is preferable but I suppose processing it smooth in a food processor is a decent alternative). Place it back in the pot at low heat, season well with salt, pepper and your herbs and just let simmer until really thick and yummy. Great on pasta (duh) with fresh grated parmesan.

Lamb curry

Use fresh spices wherever possible. They’re super easy to find and the flavour is much much better than their pre-powdered equivalent. Never use curry powder – it has absolutely no place in Indian cooking. The measurements are just for reference – don’t measure anything, just eyeball it.

4 fresh hot chilies
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon.cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
6 whole cardamom
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large red or sweet onion, finely sliced
1 teaspoon fresh chopped ginger
3 cloves fresh cloves, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
about a cup of water
good pinch of salt
1 lb or more of lamb leg, chopped into bite size chunks
Fresh chopped coriander

Place the chilies, turmeric and cayenne in a blender or small food processor. Blend until finely chopped and set aside. In a mortar and pestle (or coffee grinder reserved for spices) crush coriander, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and fennel, and set aside. In a large fry pan that has a lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the ground spices first and sauté for about 30 seconds. Add the chili paste next and sauté another 30 seconds. Add the onion and reduce heat to medium. Stir constantly and sauté for three or four minutes. Add the fresh ginger, garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and water. Season with salt and stir well. Add the lamb, toss well and cover to cook for about a half hour. Just before serving, sprinkle on lots of fresh chopped coriander. Serve with rice and only homemade naan bread, not Superstore naan bread. Geez.

Pan-roasted rosemary chicken thigh with potato, carrot and asparagus.

1 large potato, peeled and cut in eight pieces
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into pieces about the same size as the potato chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 or 2 chicken thighs, whole or cut in two.
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1 small shallot, chopped or one green onion chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
a few spears of asparagus, woody ends snapped off and discarded
red or white wine vinegar to finish

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Fill a small pot half way with some water and add some salt. Drop in the pototoes and bring to a boil. After about two minutes, add the carrot. Boil on medium high heat for about 5 minutes and then drain. Meanwhile, in a small stainless steel fry pan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat for a couple minutes. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add to the pan, skin side down. Sear them well on both sides. Add the onion and garlic and saute for a minute, being careful not to burn. Remove the pan from heat. Add the drained potato and carrot chunks to the pan. Add the rosemary and a bit more salt and pepper. Toss well. Lay the asparagus on top and put the pan in the oven for about 10 minutes. Drizzle lightly with some red or white wine vinegar when it comes out and serve.

Pasta with tuna, tomato cream sauce

Spaghetti for two
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
1 small dried chili pepper (optional, or use some hot pepper flakes)
4 sundried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes and chopped
4 or 5 black olives, pitted and chopped
14 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
1/2 can water packed chunk tuna
pinch each of pepper and dried oregano
1/3 cup heavy cream

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to the boil and add the pasta. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat for a couple minutes. Add the oil, then the garlic, chili pepper, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Stir and cook for a couple minutes. Add the tomatoes and tuna. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Season with the oregano. Simmer the sauce uncovered until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta in a collander. Turn the heat off under the sauce. Add the cream to the tuna tomato sauce and stir well. Add the pasta and toss. Divide to two warm plates.

Edit: You’ll notice there’s no salt added to the sauce. That’s because the tuna, olives and possibly the sundried tomatoes all have enough salt in them to season the sauce.

Here’s something I threw together today because my mom is heading over on the ferry tonight and likes some good home cookin’. My baked beans are really easy to make and they do away with any pre-soaking stuff with the beans. It turns out you don’t need to pre-soak the beans – every recipe for baked beans since the beginning of time has been wrong. You heard it here first. Soaking the beans actually weakens the flavour of the bean too, so just cook ‘em straight away. I make mine in manageable 1 cup batches (makes more than two cups when you’re done).

Baked Beans

1 cup white navy beans
water and salt
1 strip of good quality bacon, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon dried mustard
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses (or just use more brown sugar).
salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Fill a medium size pot with plenty of water and salt generously, the way you would for boiling pasta. Add the beans and bring to a boil. As soon as it’s boiling, reduce heat and let it simmer very gently (just barely any movement happening in the beans) for two hours. The beans should be pretty tender now. Drain them in a collarder and add to a casserole pot. Add the chopped bacon, the onion, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, molasses and pepper. Add just enough water to come a half inch above the beans and stir gently. Place in a 275 degree oven uncovered for two hours (a toaster oven will do this more efficiently if you use a casserole pot that’s small enough). Check to see if it needs more water occasionally. Season to taste with salt. Makes a perfect accompaniment to any breakfast, barbecue or campfire meal.

1 serving spaghetti or linguine
1 tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil (Bertolli or Gallo is fine)
1 small fresh or dried chili pepper (optional actually)
1 finely minced (or sloppily chopped, depending on your knife skills, it doesn’t really matter) clove of garlic
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf italian parsley
dash of fresh ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in plenty (like a gallon) of heavily salted water (several tablespoons of salt – most of it is going down the drain people) until just al dente (if you overcook your pasta, I’ll find out and I’ll hunt you down), drain and toss with a teaspoon or two of olive oil in a bowl. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat for a couple of minutes (put it on when the pasta is close to done), add the oil, then the garlic and chili. Sizzle for a few seconds then add the parsley and a few grinds of pepper. Sizzle a few more seconds then throw in the cooked pasta. Toss and serve on a plate you have gently warmed in the oven (it’s the little things that make a great meal – heat the damn plate). When in season, feel free to throw in some nice chopped tomato, basil, etc…..