Spaghetti with Red Sauce
Red sauce only; a pontification on enlightenment.
I’m a terrible surfer, but I do love the idea of surfing1. Certainly riding the wave is blast, but I also love being outside, in the water, in your own head2, the paddling out, the watching the waves, feeling the ocean, the sprint, the ups, the downs3.
A few years ago I got on a big surf literature kick. One of my favorites was4 Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis. The book follows the author as he grows up as a person, as a surfer, as a Zen Buddhist. He hones in on the idea that “samsara is nirvana5” as he reconciles the seemingly never-ending pain of paddling out past a brutal break with the short-lived exuberance of riding that wave back to shore6. I think about this concept a lot. Maybe I’m overly simplifying thousands of years of Buddhist tradition here, but I love the idea that the act of getting to, and preparation for, the “end goal” is really the “end goal” in itself. Once you accept that, things tend to get a lot easier7.
I bring this up because last weekend, as I was hiking up8 Mt. Eisenhower with my dad and brothers, there were plenty of opportunities to dwell on “the suck.” If you get too caught up in long uphill grinds, slippery rocks, and knee-pounding downhills, it can make for a tough go of it. But if you take it in stride — that suck becomes the experience — well, then the summit is even more rewarding9.
Cooking is the same way — sure, it’s a pain to dice onions, mince garlic, peel tomatoes, and simmer sauce all day… but when you’re done, the tomato sauce is worth it. And when you take the prep work in stride, you appreciate the end result all the more.
That’s what we’re making this week10, using those tomatoes you’re hopefully swimming in11. We’ve made a version of this before12, but this one is simpler. Use spaghetti, fresh if you have it, or any noodle-ly noodle.
Let’s get cracking.
Throw a pat of butter13 into a fairly deep-sided pan. Dice up several cloves of garlic, a medium onion14, and then turn on the heat to the pan. When the butter is bubbling, add the garlic and onion to the pan, and cook until they’re softened and aromatic. Meanwhile, quarter three or four tomatoes, and set aside with a handful of grape or cherry tomatoes.
Once you have a deliciously smelling pan, drop in your tomatoes. Let them cook and start to breakdown (the smaller, uncut tomatoes may take a little time) — then, pour in a slug of red wine. Let this come to a boil for about a minute, and then reduce the heat and let the sauce reduce by about half15. While the sauce is reducing, bring a pot of well-salted water to boil and cook a pound or so of pasta until just before al dente.
When ready, drain the pasta, reserving a cup or so of water, and add the noodles directly to your sauce pan. Increase the heat and mix well to incorporate the pasta into the sauce, adding pasta water as needed to maintain some level of liquidity. Remove from the heat when you have a glistening coat of sauce on your noodles, scoop some into a bowl and enjoy with a showering of parm cheese.
And that’s it. This recipe comes together pretty quickly, and I’m willing to bet the sauce is better than you’ll get out of a jar16. If you want to beef up the recipe17, you can add some meatballs, sausage, or any other protein you have on hand. If you want, you could also add some peppers, mushrooms, or other veggies to the onions and garlic in the beginning, toss in some spinach or kale at the end, or serve the sauce over polenta. Experiment a little bit!
With that, I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your Friday. Looks like we’ll be getting some more (much needed) rain here in New England, but don’t let that put a damper on your enjoyment: get outside, try something new, and drink plenty of water. If you have any other revelations about surfing18, please feel free to leave a comment below!
Much like I am also terrible at, but love the idea of, fly fishing, off-piste skiing, woodworking, and driving manual transmission.
But also, around other people.
Kind of a metaphor for life, huh?
And still is.
This is probably a terrible translation, but samsara is suffering and nirvana is the condition of being free from that. Needless to say, the idea that samsara is nirvana is contradictory at best, but hey — let’s go with it.
And then doing it again!
Thank you, Sam, for helping me work through this idea a little more clearly.
And, to be fair, down.
Sorry to get preachy, Tio and Ha!
But don’t worry, we’re not peeling any tomatoes.
Unless, like us, you’ve got some vermin raiding your tomatoes. Next year we might need to get a barn cat. For this recipe, we’re using grape and cherries tomatoes from our farm share, and a few heirlooms we saved from destruction.
When none of you were reading.
Or olive oil.
Or two small ones.
If you, like me, walk away and it gets too dry, you can add more wine, or add some of the pasta water.
Unless you’re canning your own?
Pun!
Or enlightenment.
Love this weeks' musings, as well as the recipe. The pictures alone have my mouth watering!