Two Unrelated Recipes

This week I made a couple of recipes using things from my garden.



RECIPE: Fresh Tomato Sauce (America's Test Kitchen-PBS)



To keep the garlic from burning, start the olive oil and garlic in a cold pan. Add a pinch of sugar to the cooked sauce if your tomatoes aren't as sweet as you'd like. If the sauce seems too thick, toss the sauce and pasta with a little reserved pasta cooking water to help spread the sauce evenly.

Makes 2 cups, enough for 1 pound of pasta

* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 pounds ripe beefsteak tomatoes (about 4 large), cored, peeled, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
* Table salt
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
* Ground black pepper

Stir oil and garlic together in large skillet. Turn heat to medium and cook until garlic is sizzling and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, reducing heat if sauce begins to stick to bottom of pan, until thickened and chunky, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Sauce for the Freezer
For a taste of summer in the dead of winter, make a double batch of sauce and freeze half (or all) of it. Double the ingredients, increasing the cooking time to about 30 minutes. Cool the sauce completely. Transfer to a 2-cup freezer-safe container. Press a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce, cover, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the microwave or in the refrigerator overnight.

I doubled this, using 4 lbs of a combination of Better Boy and Roma tomatoes, which made 1 quart. It is delicious and I plan on freezing it for a night when we long for the summer pleasure of fresh-picked tomatoes and basil!

Bharwan Baingan (Stuffed Eggplant)

6-8 Japanese eggplant
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garam masala (I prefer MDH brand)
1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
olive oil for pan

Cut a slit down the length of each eggplant (but not all the way through). Mix spices together and sprinkle into the slit. Coat the bottom of a skillet lightly with oil and fry the eggplant until tender. Sprinkle any remaining seasoning over eggplant as they cook.

The garam masala and amchur should be readily available at any good Indian market (not in Omaha...we ordered ours online from Quality Spices. I've tried other garam masalas and they are too heavy on cinnamon for my taste. I think this would be a great way to prepare many other vegetables, especially zucchini...a quick way to Indianize any veggie side dish!