Checca Sauce

Despite what I may blog about, we really do eat real food -- not just dessert for every meal.

Here's proof:

I didn't really care much about tomatoes until a few years ago when I was in Zambia and one of our very talented volunteers made me a tomato sandwich. No turkey, no lettuce... just bread, a little mayo and lots of sliced tomatoes. Loving and devouring it probably had a little something to do with the three weeks of peanut butter sandwiches I'd had every day for lunch, but still...it was SO good. Since then, I've been hooked. And when tomato season rolls around I always think of (and thank!) Pam for enlightening me.

(Picked, washed and cut in half. Delicious already!)

My mom picked the first tomatoes from her garden, and I couldn't wait to make up a little something with what she shared. I can't wait for ours to be ready. Just another week or so I think. Don't you love tomato season? It's brings with it fresh bruschetta and salsa, BLT's (with LOTS of T), and the best salads of the year.

(Love the colors! Ready to be pulsed in the food processor.)

This recipe is a winner from Giada who says that it's made all over Italy in the summer time, but only in Rome is it called 'alla Checca'. It did not disappoint. It's a great way to use those tomatoes, NOT use your oven and put a meal together pretty quickly. I added in three sliced chicken sausages but you could throw in any protein -- italian sausage, shrimp, or ground turkey are just a few ideas. Any pasta will work, but it sure looks good with a thin spaghetti -- probably about 12 ounces of it, maybe a little more. It's up to you. Mangia and enjoy!

(Ready to eat!)

Checca Sauce
adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentis

16 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
3 green onions (white and green parts only), coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 ounce parmesan cheese
10-12 fresh basil leaves
2-3 tablespoons olive ooil
4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cherry tomatoes, scallions, garlic, Parmesan, basil, and oil just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped. Do not puree. Transfer the sauce to a large bowl. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste. Toss the sauce immediately with your choice of freshly cooked pasta or serve over the top of pasta.

Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

This recipe was tough to come up with, but I think this is the closest I could get to how we make it. We've made it a lot and it had always turned out slightly different until we finally starting paying attention to how much of each ingredient we were putting in. This is one of my favorite sauces and it can be used in different ways. It makes a great lasagna or any baked pasta dish. It is a little time consuming, but you could always make extra and freeze it. I've done that before and it keeps really well and then throwing together lasagna is easy. We chop the ingredients in a food processor to make them really small, almost a puree, but you could certainly make a more rustic dish by chopping the vegetables a little more chunky. We've also experimented this way and it is also great. The vegetables are what give this sauce its flavor and make it one of our favorites.

Bolognese Sauce

1 large white onion

3 carrots

3 celery stalks

1 lb ground beef

3 cans tomato sauce with no herbs added

3-4 Tbls olive oil

3 Tbls Heavy Whipping Cream

Salt to taste

Freshly grated parmesean

1 lb pasta

In a large saucepan pour about 3 tablespoons olive oil.

In a food processor, or with a food chopper (or more labor intensive with a knife) finely chop the onion, then the carrots, then the celery. They should be very small.

Heat the pan to medium heat and cook the vegetables in the oil to soften. When they become soft and transluscent, add the ground beef and crumble it as you put it in. The meat and vegetables should cook together, add more oil of necessary. Salt the mixture and continue to cook until the meat is cooked through. Don't get the heat too high.

Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 45 min.

Stir in the heavy cream. The sauce will turn orange in color. Salt to taste.

Serve warm over pasta and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese. A really good parmesean will add saltiness to the dish, so don't put too much in the sauce.

Note: Good types of pasta for this dish are fettucine, penne, farfalle(bow ties), and rigatoni.

Another Note: I may have to make changes after my husband reads this:)

Pasta con tonno

We make some really delicious pasta dishes at our house and I thought I would share some. It is a little difficult to come up with a recipe, because we don't really use one. Joey is the one that usually makes these meals, but I am learning and becoming almost just as good. This is a great recipe and so simple. Whenever we serve it to friends they can never guess the secret ingredient, tuna. Tuna imported from Italy is the best kind. I know from experience, we bought some imported expensive tuna and it was so much better. It gives the sauce a stronger tuna flavor without tasting fishy. If you must use regular old tuna (like we usually do), you must use the kind packed in oil. The kind in water will taste too fishy and like a tuna sandwich with tomato sauce. The thing to remember is that good sauce takes time. This is not opening a can and heating it up. The ingredients are simple, but it has to cook for a while.

Pasta con Tonno

(Pasta with Tuna)

3 T olive oil

1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to desired hotness)

Italian flat leaf parsley chopped. About 3 T . Use less if using dried.(dried is ok, but fresh has much more flavor)

3 large cloves garlic, minced

3 15oz cans plain tomato sauce (Hunt's is best.)

1 can tuna packed in oil

In a large skillet at medium heat, heat the olive oil, red pepper, parsley, and garlic until the garlic has infused the oil. It only takes a few minutes. Add the tomato sauce. Stir and let simmer on med. low for about 30 min. Joey will say at least 45. Add the tuna and let simmer about 20 min. Serve over warm pasta and garnish with chopped fresh parsley. This makes enough for about 1 lb of pasta.

Note: Adding a little sugar to the sauce will help to cut the acidity.

Another note: Make sure the canned tomato sauce has nothing added to it. So no extra herbs!