Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce

So I had touched on this, my favorite way of making tomato sauce about a month ago, but it was just one component of a larger recipe and now that fresh tomatoes are in hand, I thought it was time to give this simple yet delicious recipe its own spotlight. Once fresh summer tomatoes are in abundance, this sauce will make weekly appearances at our table. 

Plum tomatoes are ideal for this recipe with their strong flavor that is just a bit on the sweet side, but just about any fresh tomato will work. I've used everything from beefsteak to cherry with good results, and each type of tomato will bring its own unique flavor to the sauce. Otherwise I try to keep ingredients to a minimum. Onion, basil and garlic are always in there because after all, they are tomato sauce's best friends. Red pepper flakes will add a nice bit of spice to the mix, but in the end you want the tomato to shine through so I would not stray too far from the ingredient ratios I have here if you decide to experiment.

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Tomato
Onion

Ingredients
2 tbs olive oil
2 lb fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)

1 tbs fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 lb spaghetti

Preparation
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Take the tomatoes and cut a shallow cross through the skin on the bottom, then place in the boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from the water and immediately place in a bowl of ice water to cool for 2-3 minutes. Remove the tomato from the cold water, peel off and discard the skin by grabbing the edges of the cross you cut on the bottom. Coarsely chop the peeled tomatoes, discarding the bit of core where the stem used to be. Return the pot of water to a boil then add the spaghetti and cook per package directions until its al dente.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat then add the onion and cook until it starts to get soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add the chopped tomato to the pan  and cook, stirring occasionally until the tomato has started to break down and form a sauce, about 10 minutes. Stir in the basil then season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the cooked spaghetti to the pan with the sauce and toss to coat. Serve immediately with lots of grated Parmesan cheese.

Gnocchi with Summer Squash and Fresh Tomato

True to my Italian roots (well, half of my roots anyway) one of the first recipes that I developed for myself as I became more interested in cooking was homemade marinara. I've been using that basic recipe for a few years now and am proud that I can’t remember the last time I bought a jar of sauce. That recipe (used here as part of a lasagna I made a little while back) holds true to the common image of a pot of sauce bubbling on the back burner for hours as the tomato, onion, garlic, basil and whatever else was in grandma’s secret recipe melds together into a thick, dark red sauce that covers the entire house with an aroma which upon smelling you immediately have to grab the nearest chunk of bread and dunk it in the pot.

Summer, however brings with it a wonderful bounty of fresh tomatoes and the opportunity to create a very different type of tomato sauce. With minimal effort, a ripe tomato fresh off the vine can be reduced down to a light yet flavorful sauce with wholly different characteristics from marinara. For this dish I started with a basic fresh tomato sauce as a base and then added the squash for another layer of flavor. I used the little round squashes from the week 9 share, but regular zucchini or yellow squash will work just as well. Gnocchi is a nice alternative to pasta with plenty of very good packaged varieties available, it can be a great way to change things up on a pasta night.

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Summer Squash
Tomato
Parsley

Ingredients
3/4 lb summer squash, chopped into a half inch dice
1 lb fresh tomato
1/4 cup shallot, chopped fine
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tbs parsley, minced
1 lb package of gnocchi
2 tbs grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper

Preparation
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Take the tomato(s) and cut a shallow cross through the skin on the bottom, then place in the boiling water for 1 minute.  Remove from the water and immediately place in a bowl of ice water to cool. Return the water to a boil and cook the gnocchi per package directions. While the gnocchi is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan then add the shallot and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.  Remove the tomato from the cold water, peel off and discard the skin then remove the core and coarsely chop.  Add the chopped tomato to the pan along with the crushed red pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until the tomato has started to break down and form a sauce, about 5 minutes. Add the squash and butter and stir until the butter is melted. Cover the pan and cook over low heat until the squash is soft, 3-5 minutes.  Uncover and stir in the parsley and Parmesan then season with salt and pepper.  Add the cooked gnocchi and stir to coat.  Serve immediately with more Parmesan on the side.

Orecchitte with Chicory, Beans and Sausage

Last month I made a pasta dish using arugula that was a big hit with the family.  With yet another bunch of bitter greens (the chicory) needing a good home, my thoughts turned again to pasta.  This time though, I wanted to develop my own recipe based on what I had learned from past experience. I kept the sausage in the dish and added white beans for another textural element.  I also wanted to have more of a sauce this time, so mascarpone cheese combined with some of the pasta cooking water was called into service. The result was excellent, the chicory maintained a decent bitterness after cooking that didn't overpower the dish, but still could not be missed.  

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All the Chicory

Ingredients

1/2 lb orecchitte pasta

1 tbs olive oil

1/3 lb Italian turkey sausage (casings removed)

1/3 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup canned white beans, drained and rinsed

4-6 cups chicory (or other bitter greens)

1 tsp dry oregano

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the orecchitte per package instructions.  Drain, reserving a cup or two of the cooking water and set aside.  Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat, then add the oil sausage and onion and cook, breaking up the sausage until nicely browned (5-7 minutes). Add the oregano and beans and cook for another minute.  Take a quarter cup of the water out of the pasta pot and add it to the skillet, then bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and add the chicory.  Cover the skillet and let cook until the chicory has just started to wilt, 2-3 minutes.  Uncover and mix in the mascarpone and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to coat, adding small amounts of the reserved cooking water if the sauce seems dry.

Sicilian Pasta With Cauliflower

Pasta is a staple in our house, showing up on our table at least twice a week in some form.  For that reason, I am always on the lookout for new sauces or methods of preparation to keep things interesting.  As good as bowl of spaghetti marinara is, even that gets tiresome if eaten too often.  Cauliflower is a great accompaniment to pasta, and I often use it with cheese based sauces, but with the weather getting warmer my appetite craves something lighter.  The recipe below got my attention because in addition to the cauliflower, it made use of a couple other items I needed to use; the anchovies (left from last week's Cesar salad) and the fresh tomato from this week's share.  Best of all, the other flavors in this dish come from sources not based in dairy or oil.  Saffron, garlic, pine nuts, basil and raisins make for an amazing result.

I found the recipe for this dish in the New York Times dining section.  It has been tweaked a bit below to utilize ingredients I had on hand.

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Cauliflower
Tomato

Ingredients:
1/4 cup golden raisins
Pinch of saffron threads
1 medium cauliflower, about 2 pounds, cut in to small florets
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped
1 lb fresh tomato, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
Salt and pepper to taste
3/4 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons slivered basil

Preparation:
Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with warm water. In another bowl combine the saffron with 3 tablespoons warm water. Let both sit for 20 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add the cauliflower and boil gently until the florets are tender, about 7 minutes. Remove the cauliflower from the water (leaving the hot water in the pot), transfer to a bowl of cold water until cool and then drain. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. You will cook the pasta in the cauliflower water. Take any large florets and cut them into small florets or crumble coarsely using your hands.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until it smells fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute, then add the anchovies and tomatoes. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and smell fragrant, about 10 minutes. Drain the raisins and add, along with the saffron and its soaking liquid, cauliflower, pine nuts, and about 1/4 cup of the cooking water from the cauliflower. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep warm while you cook the pasta.

Bring the cauliflower water back to a boil and cook the pasta. Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan with the sauce along with 1/4 cup of the pasta water (or more if the sauce seems too dry). Toss together with the Parmesan and basil leaves and serve.

Penne with Sausage and Arugula

This tasty pasta dish was a great way to use a lot of arugula all at once.  We actually wished there was more once the leaves had wilted down to the little bits you see in the picture. The share provided only half of what the recipe called for and I will definitely use the full amount if I make this again.

Here is the link to the recipe. I modified it a bit by using turkey sausage instead of pork.  Don't skip the toasted bread crumbs, we tasted the pasta with and without them and the crunch they add is a really nice textural element.

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All of the arugula

Linguine with Shrimp and Leeks

Five days into the first share, and there isn't much left.  Today I finally get into the leeks with a delicious recipe from Bon Appetit. The acid from lemon and spice from peperoncini compliment the buttery shrimp, and an abundance of thin sliced leeks adds a mild sweet onion flavor to every bite.  I highly recommend that you buy unpeeled shrimp and take the time to make the broth from the shells, as this adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the dish.  If you can't get unpeeled shrimp (or don't want to bother), regular seafood stock or clam juice will work as well, or even chicken stock.  Just don't use plain water, that will make the dish very bland.

Here is the link to the recipe: Bon Appetit

In addition to the leeks in the pasta, I used the last of the red leaf lettuce, the tomato and radish in a side salad.

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2 Leeks
Red leaf lettuce
Greenhouse tomato
Radish

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

Most of the time, I hope to cook dishes that highlight the item(s) from the weekly share, and not bury them amid other flavors like I'm doing here. However, we were already planning lasagna this week, and I had no intention of  skipping one of my favorite dishes.  Normally, the recipe uses frozen spinach that has been thawed and dried, so it was not a big stretch to substitute the fresh leaves from the share.

This recipe is based on one that I learned from my lovely wife, which she originally got from the Food Network.  I have made a few changes to the ingredients and assembly procedure.  You start with a bechamel sauce at the bottom of the lasagna pan and then build the lasagna from there.

The tomato sauce is my own recipe for a basic marinara that I prefer to use, but you can substitute your favorite if you like.



We also put together small tossed salad as a side using some of the other items in the share.

Share Contents Used:
All 6 oz of the spinach in the lasagna
A few leaves of the red leaf lettuce plus a couple radishes for the side salad.







Recipe for Spinach Mushroom Lasagna is as follows:

Bechamel Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg

Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Tomato Sauce:

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 tbs olive oil

1 32 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1/4 tsp dry basil

1/4 tsp dry oregano

Dash of cinnamon

Salt & Pepper to taste

Saute the onion with the olive oil in a medium saucepan until soft.  Do not let them brown.  Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano and cinnamon.  Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste.

Optional Step - Remove from heat and blend until smooth using a stick blender.  (I do this because I prefer the smooth texture that I get by doing this, but you can skip it if you don't mind a slightly chunky sauce.)

Lasagna:
1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup yellow onion, fine dice

1 16 oz container baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped

6 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped
1 15 oz container whole milk ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 cooked lasagna noodles
Bechamel Sauce

Tomato sauce
Shredded mozzarella

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add the onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onions are slightly browned and all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms.  Add the spinach and cook until it has wilted.  Add the ricotta, parmesan and pepper and stir until the cheese is warm and everything is completely mixed.  Remove from the heat and keep warm until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Pour all the bechamel sauce over the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Lay 3 lasagna noodles on top of the bechamel, top each noodle with some of the ricotta mixture. Spread around 1/2 a cup of the tomato sauce over the ricotta and then sprinkle with a little mozzarella.  Repeat the layering procedure until all the ricotta filling is used, ending with lasagna noodles on the top.  Spread around 1 cup of tomato sauce over the top of the last noodles and sprinkle generously with mozzarella . Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with additional tomato sauce if desired.