Mad Hungry- Arrabiata Sauce

I was looking for some yummy vegetarian recipes for this week's menu when I decided to check over my half-forgotten "To-Cook" list. Most of the recipes left to try are meaty, which I'm not opposed to, but haven't really been in search of lately. However, the entry "Arrabiata Sauce" remained unchecked and I decided that it was finally time to cross it off. I snatched this recipe from Poco-Cocoa long ago. And then proceeded to not make it until now. But now that I have I will definitely be making it again. I still have a little left in the fridge, which I can't wait to reheat because when I made this earlier in the week I was dealing with some sinus stuff and I don't think I was capable of taking in the full flavor. But, even with sinuses, I could tell that it was good stuff, spicy stuff. I followed Crystal's tips for making it and it came out great.

Arrabiata Sauce
Recipe from Poco-Cocoa; Makes 3 cups

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine or 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• Heat oil in a saucepan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Stir in wine and next 8 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley.

My notes: Crystal used the balsamic vinegar, and used 1/2 teaspoon of oregano in place of the Italian seasoning, both of which I did because that's what I had on hand. She mentioned wishing the sauce was thicker, so I tossed one of my cans of tomatoes into the blender before adding it in. Sort of resulted in the really seedy appearance of my sauce, but it coated the pasta a little better. Think next time I'll try crushed tomatoes. I only used about a tablespoon of fresh parsley, and it was a bit overpowering to me. But again, my taste buds weren't 100%, so that might be part of it. I used just under a tablespoon of fresh basil, and tossed in about 1/4 teaspoon of dry, just for good measure. I really like basil. :)

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

I had noticed this recipe before. It had wormed it's way into a back corner of my mind, and slept there, waiting for the day it would be awoken. And last week while I was planning my weekly menu, it finally arose. Molly mentioned it once again on her blog last week, which brought it to the forefront of my mind. I decided it would be perfect for this week, and as it turned out I picked the perfect night to make it. It was quite cold last night, and sleet came shining down most of the evening. This sauce was bright, but also very comforting. Josh is not always the biggest fan of sauce. He has been known to skip out on it completely and just coat is spaghetti with butter and Parmesan instead. But he seemed pleased to try this, and in fact had a second helping. Huzzah, a very simple and delicious sauce that my husband is happy to eat. In the future I would like to pull this recipe out for entertaining.

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
Recipe from Orangette, adapted from Marcella Hazan; Makes 4 servings












2 cups whole, peeled, canned plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juices (about one 28-oz. can)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt, to taste

• Combine the tomatoes, their juices, the butter, and the onion halves in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch or two of salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a very slow but steady simmer, adjusting the heat as necessary, for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free from the tomato. Stir occasionally, mashing any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and salt as needed.
• Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta.

My notes: I think one of the things that I really liked about this is that it reminded me very much of the simplest of simple meals my grandmother used to make when I was growing up- macaroni and tomato juice. Yep, that's about as simple as it gets, short of just dry macaroni. This had a similar, but so much fuller flavor. Loved this sauce. Try it. I added some cracked black pepper and a little freshly grated Parmesan. Josh added a lot of Parmesan, as per usual.