Last night I made a delicious batch of fresh tomato sauce with tomatoes, garlic, basil and parsley from the farmers market. I used an old recipe from my friend Erika whose family is Italian. I always loved going to her family's house in college on special occasions because they'd make the most amazing Italian feast. Of course there are no measurements to her recipe because her mom and aunts are all naturals and do everything by sight, smell, memory and instinct. It's in their blood. I put my measurements in parenthesis next to each ingredient. My sauce was not nearly as good as theirs, but with such fresh ingredients it's hard to go wrong.
I am also addicted to La Medusa in Seattle's Columbia City neighborhood. I am crazy for their Roasted Cauliflower Gratin with Pine nuts, Raisins, and Spicy butter so I tried to re-create it last night. A new friend of mine is also obsessed with it and gave me some hints on how they cook it. Mine wasn't nearly as good as La Medusa's, but it was still quite tasty.
Tomato Sauce
My friend Erika and her family
Tomatoes (about a dozen tomatoes)
Olive oil (3 T)
Butter (1 T)
Onion (3/4 onion)
Garlic (5 or 6 cloves minced garlic)
Fresh basil (2-3 T minced basil)
Fresh oregano (I used 1/4 t dried oregano)
Salt
Pepper
Red chili flakes (I skipped this because my daughter is sensitive to "spicy" sometimes)
Sugar (the tomatoes were so fresh that I skipped this ingredient)
Tomato puree or paste (about 1 1/2 cups tomato puree)
Pasta noodles
Parmigiano-Reggiano, freshly grated
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and boil for 5 minutes, until skin breaks. Drain and run under cold water to cool. Squeeze out the guts & seeds. Chop up the fleshy part of the tomato and set aside.
In a large pan, saute onion in butter and olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add garlic and saute for a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato puree/paste. Stir in basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add red chili flakes and sugar now too if using. Simmer over medium-low or low heat until ready to serve. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Cook noodles until al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water. Toss sauce and noodles and top with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Roasted Cauliflower Gratin with Pine nuts, Raisins, Spicy butter
Inspired by La Medusa
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1 head cauliflower, chopped into large florets (large bite size or bigger)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup raisins (they use golden raisins but I just used regular Thompson raisins)
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
4 T butter
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper
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Turn oven to broil. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch cauliflower in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes (depending on size). Drain and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking. When ready to prepare, toss cauliflower florets with olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne. Place butter in some type of oven-safe dish (I used these All-Clad Stainless Oval Bakers). Top with cauliflower and put in the oven for a few minutes. Remove, stir and return to heat. Remove again, stir, then add pine nuts and raisins. Top with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle top of bread crumbs with olive oil or a little melted butter (might be better to toss this together before sprinkling on top). Place back in oven for a few minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Remove and serve. (Be careful not to burn yourself with all that in and out of the hot hot oven!)
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