Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

My favourite way to preserve the freshness of summer. This is a great sauce to pull out of the freezer in the middle of winter. Super quick and easy, and very satisfying. Toss this sauce with your favourite pasta for a quick weekday meal. Make some to enjoy now and some for the freezer. My guys love this.

Quarter 8 cups of fresh, in season tomatoes. Chop 1 cup onions.

In a large glass baking pan (10x15 inch)toss all the ingredients(except the parsley) together. No kidding, that's all you do.

Tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, sugar, oil and wine all go into the pan. Save the parsley for the end. 

And in one hour you have a beautifully roasted sauce. If your sauce does not have nice browned bits like this then just leave it in the oven for another half hour.

Mash with a potato masher to break up the tomatoes and garlic. If you prefer a chunky sauce, mash less. If your family prefers a smoother sauce, mash more. It's up to you.

Use a fork to scrape the very delicious browned bits off of the side of the pan. If your family is bothered by the tomato skins you can pick them out after the sauce has cooled a bit. My family doesn't mind the skin, so I just leave them in. After the sauce has cooled you can freeze it  in 2-3 cup containers. It will keep for 6 months in your freezer.

While the sauce is cooling, cook the pasta. Reserve a cup of the pasta water for the sauce.

OK. This is the secret that Italians have for making their pasta taste awesome. 

Add the pasta to the sauce in a pan and cook on high heat for a few minutes. 

 Cooking the pasta with the sauce makes the pasta absorb the sauce. This technique will make your pasta very flavourful. This is how Italians do it, that's the secret. If you feel like there is not enough sauce, add the reserved pasta water to the pot. 

I like to serve this pasta with freshly grated parmesan, Romano or granna padano cheeses, freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. YUM!

Watch me make it on You Tube

Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce

8 cups quartered tomatoes
1 cup onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, whole
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a 10x15 inch glass pan combine everything except the parsley.
3. Toss to coat the tomatoes in the oil.
4. Roast for one to one and one half hours until the edges of the tomatoes have blackened a bit.
5. Stir occasionally.
6. Remove pan from oven. Mash the tomatoes and garlic with a potato masher until everything have combined. Is you prefer a chunkier sauce, mash less. If you prefer a smoother sauce, mash more.
7. Add parsley at the very end.
8. Sauce may be frozen at this point in 2-3 cup containers. Keeps for six months in the freezer
9. Or, Toss cooked pasta with the sauce.
10.

Tomato Mushroom Linguini

Fridge to table in 60 minutes. Doubles well and reheats well. I love to make this at the end of summer when the tomatoes are ripe and perfect. This dish showcases the tomatoes and herbs from your garden beautifully. If you don't have your own tomatoes of herbs, buy from the farmers market instead. 

Just basic, wholesome ingredients

Sauté the onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for two or three minutes. 

Add the mushrooms and garlic. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Sauté on medium-low heat,until the mushrooms release their moisture.

These brown bits in the bottom of the pan are just what you want.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the white wine and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. This will add terrific flavour to your sauce. If you don't have white wine or would prefer not to use wine, substitute with chicken or vegetable stock. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes.

Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes, string occasionally.

While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta. I like to make this dish with linguini, but you can substitute any kind of pasta that you like. Cook pasta in plenty of salted water. The Italians say that the water should be as salty as the sea. Taste the water to make sure that you have added enough salt.

See how the tomatoes have softened and released their juices. Add the herbs now. Taste the sauce and add more salt or pepper if necessary. Sometimes, tomatoes can be a bit acidic. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar to balance the flavours if the tomatoes are too acidic.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Increase the heat and gently stir the pasta and sauce together. The pasta will absorb the sauce. If the pasta becomes too dry, add the pasta water to the pan. Adding the pasta to the sauce instead of the sauce to the pasta produces a much more flavourful sauce. The Italians call this "il secreto"(the secret). Secrets our of the bag now.

The last step is to add some olive oil. Adding a bit of olive oil right at the end adds a lovely flavour and luscious mouth feel to the dish.

Pass some parmesan cheese and freshly grated black pepper.

Yum!

Watch Me Make It On You Tube 

Tomato Mushroom Linguini

2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 onion. diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups tomatoes, diced

1/3 cup finely diced herbs(Italian parsley, basil, and thyme)

500 grams linguini, cooked and drained

1 cup reserved pasta water, if the sauce is too dry

1/2 teaspoon sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic

Parmesan cheese and freshly ground pepper to serve.

Sauté the onion in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for two or three minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Sauté on medium-low heat,until the mushrooms release their moisture. Continue to cook the mushrooms until there are brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the white wine and scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pan. If you don't have white wine or would prefer not to use wine, substitute with chick or vegetable stock. Simmer the sauce for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta. I like to make this dish with linguini, but you can substitute any kind of pasta that you like. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water. The Italians say that the water should be as salty as the sea. Taste the water to make sure that you have added enough. Add the herbs to the tomato mixture now. Taste the sauce and add more salt or pepper if necessary. Sometimes, tomatoes can be a bit acidic. Add 1/2 teaspoon sugar to balance the flavours if the tomatoes are too acidic. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Reserve a cup or two of the pasta water. Increase the heat and gently stir the pasta and sauce together. The pasta will absorb the sauce. If the pasta becomes too dry, add the pasta water to the pan. 

The last step is to add some olive oil. Adding a bit of olive oil right at the end adds a lovely flavour and mouth feel to the dish. Pass the Parmesan and pepper at the table.

Buon appetito

Endorsed by son number three

Cilantro Jerk Marinade

I'm not sure how authentically Jamaican this jerk recipe is but I do  know that it is very tasty. My family loves it. I hope yours will too.

Fresh and full of flavour, this grilled chicken is a great recipe for your summer arsenal.

You will need a food processor or blender to make this marinade.

Add all of the ingredients to the processor or blender.

I love my citrus press.

Add caption

Process well until everything is pureed. It looks kind of like pesto.

I have used chicken breast today but you could use boneless/skinless thighs or even pork tenderloin if you wish.

Add marinade to chicken into a resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate for  at least three hours to overnight.

The flavour of the marinade really penetrates this meat. It goes all the way through.

Barbecue chicken on a medium hot grill for 10-15 minutes until chicken is no longer pink.

Just a delicious marinade. I have used boneless, sinless chicken breasts, but I think that this would also work with chicken thighs and even pork tenderloin.



Watch me make it on You tube.




Cilantro Jerk Marinade

1 jalapeño
1 cup, packed cilantro
1/2 cup olive oil
4 green onions
6 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon allspice(in the video I put one tablespoon in. It was a mistake, it should have only been a teaspoon)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

6-10 chicken breasts,thighs, or 4 pork tenderloin

Combine first 11 ingredients in food processor. Process until well blended. Mixture will resemble a thick paste. Combine meat and marinade in a ziplock bag. Place bag into the fridge and let meat marinate for a few hours. Barbeque on a medium hot grill for 10-15 minutes.

Three Cheese Spinach Filo Roll

A great lunch or light supper. Serve with a green salad or sliced tomatoes.

Hello meatless-Monday. This is a really satisfying dish.
If your family likes spanakopita they will love this. Cheesy and lemony wrapped in a light crispy shell, my family loves it.



Start by sauteing the onion in oil. Cook on medium low for 5 minutes until the onions are transparent.

Squeeze all of the moisture out of the spinach.
Add the garlic and spinach when the onions are just about done.  Cook for a few minutes until all of the moisture has evaporated from the spinach.

Cook the green onions for a few minutes

Let the mixture cool a bit before adding the cheese or eggs

Add the cheese, pine nuts,lemon zest and juice, nutmeg, dill, salt, pepper and eggs

Thaw the filo pastry in the packaging in the refrigerator overnight.
Cover with plastic wrap and a clean,damp tea towel. Filo dries out really quickly. The plastic wrap and the tea tower prevents it from drying out.

Combine 3 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp melted butter. Working with one sheet at a time, brush each sheet with oil/butter mixture. Stacking the sheets on top of each other as you go.

Spoon the filling onto the pastry, leaving about an inch on each side.

Carefully roll pastry like a jelly roll. Pinch the sides together. Brush the top with the remaining oil/butter.

Using a serrated knife make slices in two inch intervals slicing half way through the roll.
This step provides a way for steam to escape during the baking process and allows for easy cutting after the roll is cooked.

Bake until golden and crispy.

Serve one or two slices with a green salad or sliced tomato.



Watch me make it on Youtube.




250 grams frozen spinach(you may use fresh spinach, Swiss chard or kale cooked and drained)
1 tbsp oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green onions chopped
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup ricotta, drained
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill(or 1 tsp dried dill)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
zest and juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts(may substitute slivered blanched almonds)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
8-10 sheets filo pastry(half of a package)Thawed overnight in the fridge or at room temperature for four or five hours
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp olive oil

A Tale Of Two Pizzas- Pepperoni and Indian Inspired Curry Pizza

 I make two 10x15 inch pizzas for one supper for my family.
Start with one recipe of basic pizza dough. I like to make the dough the night before I make the pizzas. The dough will rise slowly in the fridge. It will be perfect after rising in the fridge in about 24 hours. ( the times are flexible, anywhere from 10-24 hrs in the fridge or 1-1.5 hours at room temperature should be good, the dough should have doubled in size)
Remove the dough from the fridge for 30-60 minutes. It should warm up a bit before it does in the pan.

Place the dough into the pan and deflate it. Gently press it out to the sides being careful not to tear it. Be patient, eventually it will reach out to the corners.

Pepperoni Pizza

Now that the dough is in the pan lets work on one pizza at a time. First the pepperoni. My boys are purists. They like their pizza rather plain.

Mix one small can of tomato sauce with 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp oregano.
Spread the tomato sauce on the dough. Cover the entire surface.

Lay slices of pepperoni on top of sauce.

Cover with grated mozzarella cheese.

That is all that my kids like on their pizza. You can add whatever your family likes.

They adore pizza for breakfast. We usually have leftovers.

Watch me make it on YouTube. 

Indian Inspired Curry Pizza

Now for the grown-ups pizza.


Combine 1 cup of prepared butter chicken sauce, half of a can of coconut milk and one tsp honey.

Spread the curry sauce over the dough.

Put chopped onion, chopped green pepper, pineapple, fresh baby spinach, banana pepper rings, grated cheddar and grated mozzarella cheese.

We kept our pizza vegetarian, you may add cooked chicken if you would like.

Place pizzas in the oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the crust has browned lightly.

Sooooo tasty!

Pepperoni and Indian Inspired Curry Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza
One half recipe basic pizza dough
213 mls tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
100 grams sliced pepperoni
3 cups grated mozzarella

Combine tomato sauce, garlic powder, and oregano. Press dough into a 10x15 inch sheet pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread tomato sauce mixture over dough. Lay pepperoni slices over tomato sauce. Top with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30, until cheese is golden and dough is lightly browned.

Indian Inspired Curry Pizza
One half recipe basic pizza dough
1 cup butter chicken sauce(like pataks brand)
1/2 can coconut milk(combine the solid bits with the liquid)
1 tsp honey
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 cup chopped pineapple (I used fresh, you can used canned as well)
1/2 cup banana pepper slices (use more or less, depending in your families tastes)
2 cups grated mozzarella
1 cup grated cheddar

Combine butter chicken sauce, coconut milk and honey. Press dough into a 10x15 inch sheet pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread curry sauce over dough. Layer with vegetables. Top with cheeses. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minute, until cheese is golden and dough is lightly browned.