Home made versatility - roast tomato sugo

I absolutely love tomato sauce - the sort that goes with spaghetti, over chicken parm, into a soup. Not the ketchup variety. Although that is pretty good on a sausage roll or two. And that is also even better when homemade. Not that I have ever made it. One day I will...

No, I'm talking about the tomato sauce that comes from beautiful fresh tomatoes. Now while tomatoes are a summer fruit [yes, fruit. Not veg. But don't add to a fruit salad. That is very wrong...], our local fruit and veg store currently has them in abundance. I'm going to say this is because I live in Queensland where seasonal fruit has a different meaning to seasonal fruit in a city where you actually have seasons. Anyone in Brissie this week will know what I mean. [27c anyone? anyone? Bueller?)

So anyway, back to my local F&V. Last week I picked up about 5 kilos of must-be-eaten-immediately tomatoes for about $10. Not as cheap as in summer, but given the current price of about $9 a kilo I was pretty pleased. As it is winter [technically] they don't have as much flavour as their beautiful summer compadres. So I decided to make a roast tomato sugo.

What I used:

• 5kg tomatoes, washed, core removed [I had a mix of the everyday round variety, some Roma and a few heirloom cherry tomatoes and other varieties that I found languishing at the bottom of the veggie crisper]
• 2-3 red onions, peeled, cut into quarters
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed, cut in half
• olive oil 
• salt and pepper

What I did

It's pretty easy! 

Preheat the oven to 160c [and preheating isn't even necessary. It just sounds "cheffy"]. 

Chuck all the ingredients into a large baking tray, make sure the garlic is covered by the tomatoes so it doesn't dry out, and pop in the oven to cook for about 3 hours. I gave it a stir every 45-60 minutes or so. 

Once it's cooked down, take it out of the oven, and let it cool.

Once cool, pop it into a bowl and blend up with a stick blender, or pop it into a bench blender [or thermomix] and whiz it up. 

This is about half the sauce

Use as necessary! I popped most of it into varying sized portions and froze it. You could also bottle it, I just couldn't be bothered on this particular day! 

I reckon this would be pretty good as a soup, or as a tomato sauce for a lasagne, spaghetti bol, or anything else you would normally open a can of tomatoes for. 

What do you love tomato sauce with? 

Home made baked beans

OK. It's confession time. I've never liked baked beans. There. I've said it. Ick. No, double ick. Which was unfortunate growing up because they were loved by a particular member who used to "encourage" me to try them in the belief that sooner or later my tastes would change.

Well, the good news is that my tastebuds now DO love baked beans, but only the homemade variety, not the ones out of a can. Sorry Mr Heinz.

The first time I tried proper baked beans was when I lived in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada {I won't be surprised if you haven't heard of Brandon - it's a small city in the middle of Canada. Freezing in winter, very hot in summer. I loved it.}. I was there on a Rotary Exchange after high school, and one of my host mums {moms} was from Quebec where baked beans are revered.

I'm sure you can imagine my "delight" when I came home from school one afternoon to be excitedly told by my host sisters that we were having baked beans for dinner.  All I could think of was "gee, yum" {insert appropriate sarcasm levels}.

Well, I was SO WRONG. They were AMAZING. Made from scratch {soaked, cooked beans and all} and baked for at least 8 hours in the oven.

My baked beans recipe below is quite a bit spicier than I remember Odette's being. I also cheated and used tinned beans, and cooked them on the stove top rather than in the oven - it was a hot day in February rather than the -30c it was in Brandon! So it took about 2 hours not 8.

Simmering on the stove - I used a flattish casserole dish

What you need:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped into smallish pieces
• 150g bacon, rind and fat removed, diced {or chopped into smallish pieces as per my description above when my brain forgot the word I was looking for...!}
• 3 tins cannellini beans
• 1 tin crushed or chopped tomatoes
• 1 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, chopped finely {optional, but try and find them as they add a gorgeous smokey heat to the dish}
• 3 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbs golden syrup
• 2 tbs tomato sauce {ketchup}
• 1 tbs Worcester sauce
• salt and pepper

What you do:

• In a large frypan or casserole dish heat the oil {using a medium heat}, then add the onion and bacon. Cook, stirring every minute or so, for about 5-6 minutes, until cooked
• Add all the other ingredients {in the order listed above} and stir gently. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat all the way down to low so the mixture is simmering slowly. 
• Cover with a lid and let it simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring every 15-30 minutes. If it looks like it is drying out, add some water. 
• My favourite serving option is to have it with a poached egg for breakfast. You could also serve it with crusty bread or a salad. 

If you are a vegetarian or don't eat pork products, just leave out the bacon. And if you require gluten free, just make sure the bacon and the sauces comply.

Makes enough for a crowd. Or breakfast everyday for a bit over a week. The next batch I'll be portioning and freezing.

With the perfect poached egg on top - a completely sensational breakfast that keeps me full for ages!

I'll be making these again this week, as the aforementioned family member is coming for a visit. Let's hope he loves this version as much as I do.

Comforting lasagne

If you follow me on twitter you will see that today I'm wanted to have a VERY BIG RANT about a few things that seriously annoyed me. 

I didn't.

Instead I jumped on my mac to blog about one of my favourite comfort foods - lasagne. Just saying the word makes me feel like I've been enveloped in a great big hug with a snuggly woolly blanket and the arms of a loved one.

Fortunately I've made lasagne twice in the last 5 days so I have had plenty of practice! I've also taken plenty of photos - in fact I've taken 70 photos just of the 2nd lasagne! And to those of you who have asked, YES, I'm POSITIVE I have taken more than 70 photos of my hubby in the last year. Just not in the last 5 days. :)

I love both meat and vegetarian lasagnes and have made a lot of both this year (it's been a difficult year). This recipe has meat, but you could easily substitute the meat for extra veggies or for lentils.


What you need:
Olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

250g pork mince

250g veal mince (you can buy veal and pork mince in one packet from some supermarkets)

1 x 750ml jar of tomato passata

1 x tin chopped tomatoes

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

2 tsp Italian seasoning

4-5 shakes of Tabasco

1/2 cup red wine (or water)

200g mushrooms, sliced

1 packet lasagne noodles (fresh or dry, I used dry this time)

250g ricotta cheese

250g mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes or grated

50g parmesan or pecorino, grated

1 packet frozen spinach, defrosted and with as much liquid squeezed out as possible

cubed mozarella

• In a large frypan heat 2-3 tsp olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes. 

Sauteeing garlic and onion - hear the sizzle! 

• Add the mince and cook until browned (about 4-5 minutes). 
• Add the tomato passata, tin of tomatoes, wine, sugar, salt, pepper to taste, Italian seasoning, Tabasco, stir to combine and bring to a simmmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes. 
• Heat the oven to 180c
• While meat and tomato mix is simmering, mix the ricotta and the spinach in a medium sized bowl

mmm spinach. Popeye would be proud!

To assemble:

• Put about 2 tsp olive oil on the lasagne dish, mix with your fingers so the bottom of the dish is lightly coated (this prevents the lasagne sheets from sticking). 
• Put the first layer of lasagne noodles in the dish

I used a packet of Barilla lasagne sheets this time, but usually I use fresh

• Spread half the meat mix over the lasagne noodles, add half the mozarella 

If you want to make it a bit healthier you could always leave out the mozzarella, but I love cheese!

• Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
• Spread the ricotta/spinach mix, put the mushrooms on top

This is the first time I've added the spinach to the ricotta and it added an extra dimension of flavour that  really enhanced the dish

• Add another layer of lasagne noodles and gently press down
• Add the remainder of the meat, then the remainder of the mozzarella. Finally evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese on the top. 

My favourite bit is when all the mozzarella melts when it's cooked. I could just eat the top!

Cook at about 180c for about 30 minutes or until golden on the top and the cheese has all melted.

It looks so pretty with the layers! But not so pretty that it won't be eaten!

Serve with salad, garlic bread and a big glass of red wine (for the over 18s. Or the over 21s in America). 

So OK, there's no salad or garlic bread in this pic, but there IS wine. 

This is simple and a real crowd pleaser! 

How do you like your lasagne? The traditional way or with a bit of variation?

Friday night pizza

Friday nights at our place, like many I suspect, can be a bit hit and miss with dinner. You know how it is, it's the end of the week, everyone's tired and a bit cranky, no one wants to cook or even make a decision about what to eat - and by 5pm all I'm normally thinking of is that big G&T or glass of red!

One of the foods that we all love (well, one of my favourite foods) is pizza. I have never been a big fan of the chain-store variety (you know the ones I'm talking about), and I find it a bit objectionable to pay $20 for a better quality but often soggy take away pizza. And I REFUSE to eat a frozen pizza.

Salami, mushroom, red pepper and bocconcini pizza

For the last couple of months we've been making pizza on a Friday night. Dough and all. It's easy and it's healthy (well, healthier than takeout pizza). And thanks to my thermomix, quick. AND since I realised you can freeze uncooked pizza dough, it's become even easier. Best of all, my stepson who is 9, and not known for his easy eating habits, LOVES it, helps make his own, and eats every mouthful. And that's a big win around here.

So, the recipe. Any basic pizza dough recipe will do, but I use:

Pizza dough
1 sachet dry yeast (make sure the use by date hasn't expired)
10g sugar or honey (a bit more than a tablespoon)
250ml warm water
3 tblsp olive oil
2tsp salt
500g plain flour (I use the '00' bakers flour but you could also use 100gm wholemeal and 400gm plain flour)

As I mentioned, I make this in a thermomix which takes about 3 minutes plus rising time, but the old fashioned way is easy too - just a bit slower!

• In a small bowl mix the yeast, sugar/honey, oil and about 1/3 water. Let it rest for a few minutes until it looks frothy
• Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle
• Add the wet mix to the flour mix and use your hands to mix it well together. Add more water and continue mixing until it comes together - you want it to be elastic but not sticky.
• Tip it onto a well floured bench and knead dough for about 10-15 minutes (this would be Mr 9's job if I didn't have a thermomix). Once it's quite pliable, roll it into a big ball, place it back in the large bowl, cut a cross in the top, cover with a tea towel and let it rise until it's 2-3 times the size (this can take 30-60 minutes depending on how warm it is) (see the pics below)

• Once risen, bash the dough down, knead for about 1-2 minutes, then shape into 4-6 balls (I prefer 6 so that it's a thinner and crispier base once I roll it out). To get even sized balls I roll the dough into a long sausage and cut it into 6 even looking pieces, then roll each (see the pics below)

The dough balls can now be frozen (I wrap them individually in Glad Go-between, then pop them all in a ziplock bag and into the freezer). This recipe is easily doubled, and the dough freezes well for up to 3 months. I defrost it on the bench - it takes about 30 minutes.

I pre-heat my oven to 230-250c and use a pre-heated pizza stone (I allow the stone to heat for about 15 minutes).

I usually make 1 pizza per person - whatever isn't eaten is even better the next day for breakfast.
To make the pizza, roll out each ball on a floured surface, place dough onto a piece of Glad Bake (I prefer to use a re-usable silicone sheet cut into the shape of the pizza stone so the pizza doesn't stick to the stone) cover with sauce and toppings, pop into the oven on a high heat (230-250c) and cook for until cheese has melted.

Tomato sauce
I often make my own tomato sauce too - it's pretty simple. I saute a couple of minced cloves of garlic, add a can of chopped tomatoes, simmer for about 15 minutes, add fresh (or dried) basil at the end. You can easily leave out the basil or add Italian seasoning, oregano or whatever you like.

Our favourite toppings are:

• tomato sauce, salami, mozzarella, BBQ sauce (Mr 9)
• tomato sauce, salami, mushroom, red pepper, mozzarella (hubby)
• tomato sauce, Italian sausage, mushroom, red pepper, bocconcini (me)
• tomato sauce, proscuitto, marinated artichoke hearts, bocconcini (also me)

What do you do on Friday nights for dinner? And, more importantly, what's your favourite pizza topping?