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02/23/2010: "Paying it forward"
A few years ago - for Valentine's Day the year I was pregnant, I think - Dave got me Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking". I am ashamed to say that before he bought it, I was unfamiliar with it. That was really, truly wrong of me, but thankfully, he set me straight. It's an honest to goodness treasure that runs the gamut from "couldn't be simpler" to "challengingly complicated". I love a book that solves weeknight dinner dilemmas and then a few pages later makes me wonder, "Hmmm - could I pull that off?"
This is my own personal "pay it forward" moment. Just as Dave introduced me to this valuable tome, I'm going to pass on to you the easiest of recipes from the book. It's such a keeper, though, that everyone should have it in their repertoire, and I include non-cooks in that sweeping generalization. This is a recipe that is hardly a recipe, it's so easy. Everyone should know how to make this.
Marcella's Tomato Sauce
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (Hunt's works great here. You want good quality tomatoes. You could also use a can of whole tomatoes and chop them roughly)
5 Tbs butter
1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half around the equator
Pinch of salt
Dump everything into a pot on med-high heat. Let mixture come to a fast simmer (don't boil), then drop heat to a slow simmer. Let sauce simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes or until everything thickens up a bit. Stir occasionally but don't break up the onion. When done (just eyeball it - you don't want runny juices but it's not like a fork should stand up in it or anything), remove from heat. The tomatoes will still be chunky and the onion will be quite softened. Take out the onion (you can save it for stock or just toss it out). Stir sauce into hot pasta - this is enough sauce for a pound of pasta.
I know. I know. When I first came across it I thought, "What a crock. How could this be interesting?" But I made it anyway and I was soooo glad I did. The sauce makes the pasta addictive. Something happens with the butter and the tomatoes that makes both of them better than they could be alone. And the onion adds a sweet, light sense of itself... I don't know. It's just good. And because this sauce uses what most of us have available in our kitchens right now, it's a fast, cheap, easy-peasy way to be a gourmet.
Endlessly adaptable, you could throw some leftover chicken or turkey in the pasta. The sauce is nifty over eggs. You can leave half the onion in the sauce and then puree the whole thing with an immersion blender for something completely different but still delicious.
But whatever you do, just do it. You can thank me later.
P.S. - It freezes well too, so when you decide you want this all the time, you can double, triple, quadruple the recipe and freeze a bunch. That is, if it makes it to the freezer and doesn't, you know, fall onto some pasta on the way.
