Red Sauce Only
Making use of the garden
Hola, ladies and gentleman. Happy Friday. I’m off to Colorado for a bachelor party, hopefully imbibing in a big fat steak, enjoying the great outdoors, and waking up each morning with a Whoop recovery higher than 10%. One can dream.
As I’ve alluded to in the past, we planted a vegetable garden this year for the first time. Despite a classic rookie mistake of way overplanting, the harvest has been good thus far. We’re swimming in cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. Given the glut of tomatoes, and that we’re also out of town next week, I decided to embrace my Italian roots and cook up some sauce. Today, we’re gonna make a slight twist on a classic arribiata sauce.
Now I had the intent to make this and freeze it, but it smelled so good while it was cooking, we just ate it for dinner. Don’t make the same mistake, and make much more than you think is necessary. This recipe involves a bit more upfront prep work (namely, peeling the tomatoes), but once you pass that hurdle, it’s just a game of patience.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Next to it, place a bowl filled with ice water. As the pot is coming to a boil, slice an “X” at the top of as many tomatoes as you can spare. The variety doesn’t really matter, but cherry or plum tomatoes would work well. When the water boils, drop the tomatoes into the pot and let them bathe for about a minute or so, until the skin starts to peel away from the flesh. Remove them and plop them in the ice water.
In another large pot, add a hearty slug of olive oil and bring to a low heat. Sprinkle a good amount of red pepper flakes on top — the more, the spicier. Dice up a bunch of garlic, and if you have them, peppers. Onions could go well here, too. Add your knife work to the oil and cook gently until the garlic and veggies are very soft and aromatic.
Remove the tomatoes from the ice water, and peel away the skin. Toss the fleshy parts of the tomatoes into the pot with the garlic, oil, and veggies, and raise the heat, stirring and mashing until the tomatoes start to fall apart. Raise the heat to a boil (the tomatoes should at this point have let off a bunch of water) and add a solid glug of red wine — and balsamic vinegar if you’re feeling… saucy. Let the alcohol burn off (a few minutes), and then reduce to a simmer and leave uncovered until the entire sauce has reduced to your desired thickness (I let it ride for about 3 hours). Enjoy with pasta, polenta, or just straight with a spoon.
And there you go. A delightful red sauce, which can be done during the week, but really would go well for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
That’s all I’ve got for you. Enjoy the weekend, and do something new.
Are aliens already here? [OZY]
Rethinking yoga [Inside Hook]
Another reason you should read The Wheel of Time [Inside Hook]
Debunking dinosaur myths [Inverse]
More on expensive mountain towns [Outside]
The aftermath of Hell Week [Business Insider]