Basic Red Sauce for Italian Cooking

*1 onion
*2 cloves garlic
[*In Puglia (the part of Italy that is in the "heel" of the "boot"), many people insist that you should use either onion or garlic, but never both together, because the tastes are so similar. Other regions of Italy, however, do not have this same opinion. You decide.]
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large can tomatos (preferably imported from Italy), or 3 3/4 cups diced fresh tomatos
pinch of sugar (see caution at bottom)
salt and pepper
6-10 basil leaves

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatos, sugar, salt, pepper, and one basil leaf. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has thickened, blend in a blender. Pour back into sauce pan and reduce for another 5 minutes. Chop remaining basil and add immediately before serving.

This is the basic sauce for all of your red sauce Italian requirements. While the sauce is excellent with no additions, you can also consider this the blank canvas to which you will add your favorite meat and vegetables.


CAUTION: With regards to sugar, less is more! One of the mistakes most commonly made by Americans when cooking Italian is the tendency to add too much sugar. Nothing is more calculated to make your sauce seem a cheap American imitation instead of an authentic Italian masterpiece! If you use sugar at all (and you certainly do not need to!) only use a pinch!

Pasta alla Norma

One package long pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine, linguini, etc)
3 eggplants (as fresh as possible, without any bruises)
coarse salt
flour
olive oil for frying eggplant
tomato sauce (your own recipe, or see below)
6-10 basil leaves
200 grams of crumbled ricotta salata (salted ricotta cheese), which is what makes this recipe authentic; available in the best Italian groceries

Thinly slice eggplants. Spread slices in layers on a cutting board, and cover each layer with salt. Place the board at an angle next to sink to allow liquid to run directly into sink. Cover eggplants with a weight (for example, a pot filled with water, and leave standing for two hours. Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce recipe:
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large can tomatos (preferably imported from Italy), or 3 3/4 cups diced fresh tomatos
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper


Fry onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatos, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has thickened, blend in a blender. Pour back into sauce pan and reduce for another 5 minutes. 


NOTE: This is the basic tomato sauce recipe that can be used for all your Italian red sauce cooking.

After the required time, rinse and dry eggplant slices. Cover them lightly with flour to prevent them from soaking up oil. Boil water for your pasta and warm up the tomato sauce if necessary. Meanwhile, fry the eggplant slices in hot olive oil (about 400 degrees), a few at a time, about 2 minutes per side. Wipe off excess oil from the slices and keep them warm. When the pasta is ready (al dente!), place in a large serving bowl. Add ricotta and mix well. Then add tomato sauce, basil, and eggplant. Mix and serve immediately.

Buon appetito!

Chicken (or Shrimp) Scampi

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 Tbs garlic, minced
3 Tbs lemon juice (fresh is best)
2 lbs chicken cut into 1 inch slices
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 large tomato, chopped
1 package fettuccine

Melt butter with olive oil in wok or skillet. Bring just to a boil. Add onion and garlic and saute. Add chicken, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and parsley. Saute until chicken is no longer pink. Add diced tomatos just before serving. Serve over fettuccine.

NOTE: Obviously, you can substitue shrimp for chicken and have shrimp scampi.

Farfalle with Wild Mushrooms Cream

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 lb farfalle (bow tie) pasta, cooked
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Soak porcini mushrooms in warm water for 15 minutes. Drain (saving the liquid) and chop coarsely. Heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper and cook for 15 seconds. Stir in all mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. Add liquid from soaked porcini mushrooms and bring to a boil. Add cream; boil 5 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Toss together with pasta, parsley, and parmesan cheese.

* NOTE: Chicken and spinach tossed in are an excellent addition!

Pesto

*3 bunches basil

1 cup olive oil

3/4 cup grated parmesian (not the stuff in a can! you have to use real cheese!)

(pecorino romano or any other hard white chees works well, too)

1 package (2.25 oz) pine nuts - toasted

3-4 cloves garlice - sauteed (barely browned)

2 tomatoes - diced (optional)

2 chicken breasts - cooked, cubed (optional)

1 box pasta (any shape; we used cellentani in the picture above) - cooked according to box directions

dash nutmeg (optional)

salt, pepper to taste

Puree the following in a blender or food processor: basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and nutmeg. Stir into cooked pasta. Add diced tomatoes and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Buon appetito!

*Note: as with most of our Italian cooking, we don't really measure anything, so the above amounts are an approximation.

Mexican Lasagne

Sauce

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 bottle taco sauce

2 cups cooked chicken

2 envelopes sazón

Filling

1 large can refried beans

1 cup sour cream

Sprinkles

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 can black olives, sliced

3 cups shredded cheese

1 lb box lasagna noodles

Layer in 9x13 pan in this order:

Sauce, noodles, filling, sauce, sprinkles, noodles, filling, sauce, sprinkles, noodles, sauce, sprinkles.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. When ready to bake, remove plastic and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, then uncover and bake another 20 minutes.