Fresh homemade tomato sauce: it's worth doing it!

Do you know how to make a fresh delicious homemade tomato sauce? Have you ever tried?

The making of tomato sauce (in Italian salsa di pomodoro) definetely reminds me of my childhood summers spent in our country-house along with my family and my maternal grandparents.

My mum and my grandma sometimes were doing the "salsa" (literally means sauce and when we say the word alone it only means tomato sauce). I used to watch the process, not the entire one though, as it was very long and after a while I inevitably got bored; so I was coming and going from the kitchen from time to time.

Last week after so many years I decided to prepare once again some fresh tomato sauce. Contrary to what I used to think when I was 10, it didn't seem to me neither long nor boring. That's good! 

It took me just an afternoon (cooking time included) and the result was great! I was so proud :-)

Ingredients:
1 kg ripen tomatoes
1 onion
1 full teaspoon of salt
1/2 spoon of caster sugar
black pepper
olive oil
fresh basil
cinnamon in powder
nutmeg
1. Wash the tomatoes under running water, then roughly cut them and put them in a sauce pan together with the sliced onion. Let cook the two together for about 30 minutes on a very low heat with a lit.
2. After that it's time to mash them up. To help you speed up the process you can first blend the mix; this will facilitate the squeezeing phase. 
3. To squeeze them put them in a strainer. I have an electric tomato strainer (or squeezer... I am not sure how you exactly call it) so it's very easy (See the pic here on the left). When you have finished the squeezing phase, the liquid that you have gathered in the sauce pan is very watery and needs to be reduced to the proper thickness of the tomato sauce, so it has to cook again on a very low heat for at least two hours and half or until it is not watery anymore.

4. As soon as the liquid is becoming more and more "sauce" than water add all the ingredients to make it tasty: salt, sugar, a pinch of black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and some fresh leaves of basil. Taste it and adjust with salt and sugar if needed.

In the end add also a drizzle of extravergin olive oil... and that's pretty much it, your fresh homemade tomato sauce is ready!!!
You can use it on your pasta, bruschettas, pizza or wherever you like. You will be proud too! ;-)


Enjoy!

Sausage in tomato sauce: a Sicilian way to taste sausage

Do you know how to cook Sicilian sausage in tomato sauce? It's very easy and it will take you about 40 minutes at the most. You will only need: 1 kg Sicilian sausage - tomato sauce - olive oil

In Sicily sausage is called "sasizza" and butchers prepare it binding the sausages all together with some kitchen string making one big long sausage.

First of all what we normally do is to roll it up using some thin wooden sticks (just like shown in the picture here). After that you have to cook it either in the oven or in a pan. Cooking time is similar.


If you choose the oven put it at 180°c for about 15-20 minutes, while in the frying pan add a little bit of water. At half cooking time stick a fork on the meat all around the sausages. This is a very important step because it helps eliminate the fat inside.


In the meantime, put on a medium heat, a sauce-pan with tomato sauce. Adjust with salt, sugar and spices if needed. Don't overdo with the spices as this kind of sausage is already very tasty.

When the sausage is cooked and the tomato sauce is about to bubble, you can transfer the sausage in the sauce pan, lower the heat and let cook with a lit for about 10 more minutes. Finally add some olive oil and serve hot.

This dish is very common in Sicily, especially if you cooked sausages the day before and you have some left over that want to re-use. We also have it as a delicious tasty sauce for our pasta at lunch time. You only need to cut the sausage in smaller pieces. These are absolutely the best ways to enjoy this great dish!

Sicilian filled artichokes cooked in tomato sauce

Do you know how to cook artichokes in tomato sauce with the typical Sicilian filling? In Sicily we cook artichokes in several ways. This recipe is one of the most traditional. You can follow it here step by step.

You will need: 5 artichokes - 8 tbs breadcrumbs - raisins and pine nuts - 1 egg - tomato sauce - olive oil - half lemon

1. Take an artichoke at a time and remove the external and rough leaves using a sharp knife. Continue until you have only thinner and softer leaves. Cut also the stem. In a sink full of cold water squeeze the juice of half a lemon and leave there the lemon as well. When you have finished with the knife leave the artichokes to soak about half an hour.


2. While artichokes are in water, in a bowl or plate, prepare the filling with breadcrumbs, rainsins and pine nuts. Add a drizzle of olive oil and mix all together.


3. Take out the artichokes from water, then start filling them with the mix using a spoon.

4. When they are all filled with the mix, whisk an egg in the same plate and pour it on top of every artichoke just 
like shown in the picture. 


5. It is now time to put a frying pan on a high heat. After few minutes turn the artichokes upside down for one minute to cook the egg, until becomes, as we say, like "a cork of bottle".


 

 6. Now in a pan on a medium heat prepare the tomato sauce, adding as usual some salt, sugar, cinnamon and olive oil. When the tomato sauce is hot, lower the heat and put the artichokes inside the pan.
Let them cook there for about half an hour with a lit, checking every now and then with a fork, until they are soft and well cooked.





8. When ready, transfer them on a plate and serve them with some slices of rustic bread. It will be a lovely side dish for your dinner. Enjoy!

The finest mussel soup of all times...

Do you know how to cook a mussel soup? Follow this recipe and you will have the finest and most delicate soup you have ever eaten in your entire life. First, manage to buy some very fresh mussels!


You will need: 1kg fresh mussels - extra virgin olive oil - garlic - red pepper - 1 can of peeled plum tomatoes - 1 tsp salt - fresh parsley

Start with scrubbing the mussels and rinsing them under running water. Put them in a large pot on a minimum heat with just an inch of water and cover them with a lid so that they can slowly open.

In the meantime prepare another large pot with an inch of oil and two cloves of garlic on a medium heat. Leave them for about 5 minutes, then add the can of tomatoes (if the tomatoes in your can are in one-pieces you first have to cut them in small pieces.) Add also a considerable pinch of salt and half of a red pepper (the quantity of red pepper is up to your taste!) Let the sauce cook for 5 more minutes. 

As soon as the mussels are ready and open (get rid of the shells that have not opened), drain them and add them to the tomato sauce, but do not eliminate the water in which they have been cooked, because you have to filter it until becomes clean, to get rid of the sand that may be in it. Once you have the water filtered, add it to the soup of mussels and cook all the ingredients together for about 15-20 minutes. Finally chop some fresh parsley, mix all together and serve with some fresh rustic bread in soup bowls. Enjoy!

Sardines meatballs in tomato sauce, what a dish!

Do you know how to cook fish meatballs? It is a delicious specialty all Sicilian called "Polpette di Sarde". This recipe is something I love to eat during winter and fortunately my father, who is very good at, prepared it few days ago. Basically they are meatballs but done with fresh sardines, which means a lot heavier and a lot healthier.

Here comes the recipe: 

You will need 500 gr. sardines - 100 gr.grated pecorino cheese - 100 gr sultanas - 50 gr pine nuts - breadcrumb - parsley or fresh mint - oil of olive - salt - pepper - tomato sauce

First, you need to wash the fish and getting rid of head, bones and tail. Then, cut it and put it in a bowl together with the pecorino cheese, the sultanas, the pine nuts and the parsley (or mint) finely chopped. 
Add also salt, pepper and the breadcrumb (about 4-5 spoons) until the mix is quite solid.

Now in a pan, put half bottle of tomato sauce, add salt and sugar and a pinch of cinnamon as well. Let heat the sauce, when it's hot you can do your little balls and place them inside the sauce being careful not to break them in pieces.

Put the heat at the minimum, the lid on the pan and let them cook for about 20-25 minutes. Finally add a couple of spoons of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot with some slices of rustic bread. You will have a delicious, healthy Sicilian dinner. Enjoy!