Pandemonium Pasta

So the other night I tried to make this pasta sauce steffi's mother showed us how to make when she was last visiting New York. But I sort of failed. First my mistake was not using all plum tomatoes so the skin didn't come off two of them which I had to reboil and it was a mess. Then I used canned tomatoes and forgot to drain the liquid. And then I blended them instead of just pulling them apart. So the sauce came out super liquidly. Anyway here is how I did it tonight.

First The things you'll need are.

8-12 plum or heirloom tomatoes ( riper the better) Also it depends on how much you want to make

5 cloves of garlic ( this is also subjective because some people don't like as much garlic but I think it packs a good flavor)

1 yellow onion ( it can easily be over done so again add it to your liking but I find if you choose a nice medium sized one not some huge monster onion that it'll do just fine)

1 bunch of fresh basil

1 bottle of red or white wine ( i prefer red)

half a bunch of fresh parsley

1/4 lb or small container in the USA of olives ( olives are essential to this sauce and really give it soooo much flavor, this is where most of the salt comes from so there isn't really much need to add salt. But I would recommend black Moroccan style oil cured olives, or regular kalamata olives. Never used canned olives. I always get them from an olive bar or deli or something like that)

1 bay leaf

1 tiny tin of anchovies (depending on how much sauce you make is how much you put in. Tonight I used ten of them which was almost all of them. I would get ones that don't have anything added to them which many do. So just oil and salt cured)

a pinch of chili flakes

salt & pepper

olive oil

I also made this with some salad, and a quick homemade dressing, and garlic bread.

The garlic bread really just requires some italian styled bread, more cloves of garlic, butter and olive oil.

The salad requires:

greens however you like

radishes

cucumbers

Really simple.

First I cut the garlic and the dice the onion pretty small, then I minced the garlic so it's really tiny. set that aside. The I pit the olives, mince them very fine almost to a pulp, then I mince the anchovies. And then mince the basil, and parsley. It's easy to over do it on parsley so I only use half as much as basil.

Once you have everything ready to go. The tomatoes can be boiled just until the skin cracks so you can peel it off easily. Once the tomatoes are splitting pull them out of the water and into another bowl, using a hand strainer. (BE CAREFUL THEY WILL BE EXTREMELY HOT) Let them cool, and if you need to cool them more quickly use cold water. It's ok if they are cold. I had the time so I let them sit for a while. Once you can handle them without burning your hands, peel them and core them so the nasty little hard top comes out. Then you can just tear them apart in the bowl. Don't over do it because then you'll just have a puree and thats not what your looking for. So leave some of them in bigger chunks.

When it comes down to cooking the sauce it's really easy. I was taught to cook the onions first. Cook them until they are clear and then through in the garlic. You want to be here the entire time watching them and stirring so the garlic and onions don't crisp or burn. Once they have both reached that amazing aroma you can through in the olives and anchovies. stir this around for a few minutes and then throw in the herbs. Once it gets a nice little cook for a few minutes your all set to add your tomato mash.

Now that you hav everything together give it a good mixing and cook for like five minutes. Then I add the wine just a splash and cook it down a tiny bit. After this you can salt and pepper through in your chili flakes and the bay leaf. then stir and let simmer for maybe ten minutes. Let it bubble for a while and keep stirring every so often. The when it's almost done you can cook your pasta ( I use spagetti). And keep your sauce warm/ hot just don't over cook it so a lid might be great and reheating is even better.

Once the pasta is done serve with a nice sprig of basil, and some freshly grated parmesan cheese.

This was my first time making homemade garlic bread but it was super easy. Steffi gave me some tips. So what I did was take a half of a stick of butter, melted it in the microwave. And then added a good glug of olive oil, and the garlic. Some salt a tiny bit, and some died basil, and pepper.

I just mixed it around and spread it on the half cut open loaf of bread like a sandwich. Then I closed it and wrapped it in foil and baked it at 425 until it was crispy. It turned out really well.

- k