Meaty Tomato Sauce

 

Tomato sauce, in its simplicity is a tangy seasoned palette pleaser, add in other ingredients like spinach, onions, herbs, red wine, vodka, meat or a soy meat substitute and that enhances not only the flavour but the depth of something so fluid, so generously spoonable over any pasta... simply delectable and savoury. You can omit the meat, if you wish, it will still be a wonderful sauce for pasta and to dip pieces of a crusty Italian bread into or use it as a base for lasagnes and other saucy pasta dishes.  

Meaty Tomato Sauce

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1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb. ground beef 

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large can of low salt diced tomatoes

1 small tin of tomato paste

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence 

1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large deep fry pan over medium-high heat add the olive oil wait a few minutes for the oil to warm up then add the chopped onions. Stir and allow the onions to get semi transparent. Add the ground beef and using a wooden spoon break up the beef and mix with the onions. Stir constantly, allowing the beef to brown. Once the beef has browned add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, Herbs de Provence, red chili flakes and salt and pepper. Stir to combine together. Reduce heat to low-medium and allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Taste and adjust the seasoning according to preference.  

     

Oven Baked Tortellini

Still riding on the baked pasta theme I thought I would try baked tortellini. I opted for a less creamy sauce by not adding any type of cheese to it therefore making a more tangy tomato sauce. Another tasty meal in minutes!    

Oven Baked Tortellini

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2x 350g packages cheese tortellini

3 cups tomato sauce, homemade or from a jar

1 tablespoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

frozen spinach, defrosted and any excess liquid squeezed out

parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.

Cook the tortellini according to package directions. Drain well.

In a large bowl stir to combine the tomato sauce, herbs and spinach.  Add the drained cooked tortellini to the sauce mix and gently stir. Add the now sauced tortellini into the prepared baking dish. Top with shredded parmesan cheese then some shredded mozzarella cheese. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese has melted and bubbly. Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.   

Hope everyone had a good weekend! It's back to school so I am expecting a bit of a flurry over the next couple of weeks. - JD 

Oven Baked Ravioli

Ravioli is great however baked in the oven with extra sauce and cheese is delicious. This dish mimics lasagne without all the layering; so if you are in a hurry this would be the recipe for you.   

Oven Baked Ravioli

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2 x 350g packages of fresh Cheese and Spinach Ravioli

3 cups pasta sauce, homemade or from a jar

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

shredded parmesan cheese

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9x13inch baking dish.

In a large bowl whisk together the pasta sauce, Herbs de Provence and mascarpone cheese until nicely blended and smooth. Set aside.

Cook the fresh ravioli according to package directions. Drain well. Add the ravioli to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the ravioli to the prepared baking dish. Top with the shredded parmesan and the shredded mozzarella. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 to 20 minutes or until the cheese and sauce are nice and bubbly. 

It's been a lovely week and a bit of relaxing and enjoying. I hope everyone had a great one and a great weekend too. - JD  

Food Photo of the Day ~ Carrot Lentil Pasta Sauce

Steaming hot and delicious... herbed tomato sauce with grated carrots, and lentils. Adding  grated vegetables to a basic tomato sauce not only adds flavour but is a great way to add more vitamins and nutrients. My kids love grated carrot and zucchini. Adding lentils replaces minced/ground meat and gives it that bolognaise texture. Even meat eaters will welcome the change. Healthy, hearty and simple! 

Hope everyone had a good weekend, we sure did! - JD  

1 Sauce, 100 Recipes

There is an adage "As long as you have your two cents you will never be poor" this cookbook made me think of that saying in this way.. as long as you have tomato sauce you will never be hungry. That could very well be this cookbook's premise. One basic sauce recipe equals 100 dishes. A basic tomato sauce can work well with just about anything... meat, fish, tofu, vegetables, and eggs. It spans cooking from many countries around the globe such as Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and India. It is the base for stews and saucy baked layer dishes. One of the main ingredients for pizza and pasta and may be served as a hot or cold dip. There are plenty of recipes in this book to make you favour tomatoes, whether it be fresh or canned. I  bookmarked about 40 recipes that I can see us enjoying. 

Some helpful tomato facts I have learnt:

-Plum tomatoes are perfect for cooking. They are dense, have less watery flesh than plump round tomatoes.

-Tomato paste intensifies the flavour of tomatoes. If you don't have tomato paste omit the sugar (from which ever recipe) and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ketchup instead.

- Unripe tomatoes are better for making chutneys not sauces.

-Basil is the perfect herb for tomato sauces. 

- Garlic, celery, yellow onion and olive oil will all add depth and flavour to tomato sauce. 

- Canned tomatoes are excellent for making tomato sauce. Also they are readily available all year round. 

A good tomato sauce is quick and easy to make, I agree. What you do add to it, will give it that sweet rich of flavour. Here are two delicious recipes from the cookbook. 

Basic Tomato Sauce (makes about 2 1/2 cups)

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2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive or other vegetable oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

400 grams/ 14 oz canned tomatoes or 500 g/ 1 lbs 2 oz plum tomatoes, peeled, cored, and chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

brown sugar, to taste

1 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs and/or 1 - 2 teaspoons dried herbs, and/or 1 - 2 bay leaves

scant 1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

Met the butter with the oil in  pan. Add the onion, garlic, and celery and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar to taste, herbs, and water and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 - 20 minutes, until thickened.

Green Beans Spanish Style

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2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

2 lb 4 oz / 1 kg green beans, cut into 1 inch/2.5-cm lengths

1 lb 12 oz / 800g canned chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoon tomato paste

brown sugar to taste

1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives, plus extra for garnish

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chopped pine nuts

1 tablespoon lemon juice

salt and pepper

Melt the butter with the oil in a large pan. Add the shallots, garlic, and celery and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the beans and cook, stirring occasionally, for and additional 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar to taste, chives, bay leaf, pine nuts, and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 25 to 30 minutes, until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened.

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Transfer the mixture to a warmed serving dish, garnish with chives, and serve immediately. 

I hope fellow Canadians had a fun Canada Day. And most are not too upset over England's loss in the Women's World Cup. The weekend is almost here!  - JD 

Zucchini Parmesan

Nothing says Fall quite like a zucchini parmesan. It is one of those comfort dishes that can stand alone or be a lovely side dish. It is the pasta-less lasagne. Simple as it is there are some steps involved however at the delicious end there lies the reward. I have made this dish with a combination of zucchini and eggplant. Which is the absolute tastiest Parmesan you will ever have. If you do decide to venture and add eggplant all you do is prepare the eggplant in the same way as you would the zucchini. For this dish you will need the following:

2-3 large zucchini, sliced

salt

flour to coat the zucchini slices

vegetable oil for frying the zucchini slices

tomato sauce, pre-made or homemade

grated parmesan cheese

grated mozzarella cheese

1 x baking dish

   

First you want to wash and then slice the zucchini. The thickness of the slices all depends on your preference. Thicker slices gives you a meaty sort of texture. Whereas thinner gives you a more melt in your mouth texture. Sprinkle the slices of zucchini with salt. This prevents them from sweating too much. Switch the oven on and let it preheat to 350º.

Coat each slice in flour. Everyday all purpose flour will do however you may have a preference and want to use that.  

Once all the slices are floured you will want to pour some vegetable oil in a large pan/skillet and heat. Once the oil is hot place as many of the floured slices of zucchini as possible. Be careful the oil is hot! You may have to add more oil as you go. I did because I try to get away with using as little oil as possible. 

Once the slices are nicely browned on each side remove them from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper/kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil. You may have to replace the towels with fresh ones along the way. Repeat this until all the slices are browned and drained. 

Then get a baking dish. How many zucchini slices you have will determine the size. My zucchini slices were quite large therefore I used a 9x13 dish. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with some tomato sauce. Your sauce can be a pre-made one or a homemade one. I whipped up an easy sauce by taking a large tin of crushed tomatoes adding some herbs and seasonings. Done.  

Start to arrange the zucchini slices on top of the tomato sauce. Then add some grated parmesan cheese and grated mozzarella cheese over the zucchini slices. Place more tomato sauce over the cheese covered zucchini slices and repeat, by arranging more zucchini slices then cheese and then sauce. Until all the zucchini slices are used and the dish is layered fully. Like a lasagne. Ending with tomato sauce on top covered with the grated cheeses. 

If eggplant is being added to this dish simply alternate the layers with the prepared eggplant slices. 

Once everything is layered and nestled in the baking dish. Place the dish in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until all the cheese is melted and bubbly. 

Everything is melted and bubbled nicely after 30 minutes of baking. Remove the baked Zucchini Parmesan from the oven. Let stand for a few minutes and serve.

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend. - JW 

Spaghettini with Cheesy Chicken Meatballs

Usually when a particular week is busy that might mean dinner has to be simple and quick. And what better meal than a Spaghetti Bolognese. However as the snow fell my mind drifted and I changed the dinner plans to meatballs instead. The last time I made meatballs I did them stove top and the aspect of frying them consumed much time. These are a breeze to make and taste delicious. 20 minutes in the oven. Easy!  

To make these delicious or as my daughter said... scrumptious, baked meatballs you will need the following: 

1 package of ground chicken 

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or your favourite butter crackers smashed into tiny bits

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese 

2 teaspoons of basil

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of garlic and herb Mrs. Dash

1 teaspoon parsley 

a pinch of salt

a dash of pepper

1/4 cup cornmeal (or bread crumbs) to roll the meatballs in. 

First preheat the oven to 400ºF and grab a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Using your hands form into rounds no bigger than a walnut.

Take the cornmeal and place on a plate. Roll each meatball in the cornmeal and place on the prepared baking sheet. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked all the way through. 

Notes: This is a recipe that has some give and take. You can always change up the herbs and spices for different ones. Try using different ground meat. Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese are great alternatives to old cheddar. However I think a lovely blue cheese would do just nicely too.  

Something else that is simple to make... basic tomato sauce. Empty a 720ml jar of organic strained tomatoes (passata sauce) into a saucepan. Add some basil, oregano, rosemary or herbs de provence. Add a dash of salt, a bit of pepper, crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and some HP sauce otherwise known as brown sauce. Stir it all together and let simmer for about a half hour. What better way to pass the time while the meatballs are baking and the is pasta cooking.