Don't Just Noodle Around: Quick and Easy Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

In an earlier post, I showed how a food mill can be used to make homemade applesauce almost effortlessly! Well, once again, with the food mill you can make an easy, delicious spaghetti sauce and cook your spaghetti in 20 minutes or less. And it's vegetarian (vegan if you don't add cheese)!

The food mill is CRITICAL to the success of this sauce. Why? Because it can separate the tomato seeds from the tomato pulp. Tomato seeds can add a bitter note to tomato sauces, and since you really want the fresh, bright tomato flavor to be the dominant element in the sauce, it is very important to remove them.

If this sauce were a soup, it would be a consomme. It is pure, elemental tomato augmented by garlic and basil. In fact, this spaghetti sauce is one of my favorite "six ingredients or less" recipes. Onion haters, take heart: ain't a speck of onion in here.

However, because it IS so simple, it's very important to use the highest-quality ingredients. It's really worth it to use imported San Marzano tomatoes from Italy. The brand most readily available in my area is Cento; all of them seem to sell for around $5 for a 32 oz. can. You MUST use fresh basil, also; you cannot substitute dried basil here.

If you can get your hands on some REAL parmigiano reggiano, it is positively ambrosial sprinkled on top of the pasta and sauce. You can tell if you've got the real thing because the rind of the cheese will look like this:
It has the words PARMIGIANO REGGIANO spelled out with these distinctive little dots. If you don't see the dots, it's not the real stuff imported from Italy, and it won't taste nearly as good. I have seen parmesan imported from Argentina, and it is definitely inferior to the real thing (in my opinion).

This dish is a little different than the way we normally eat spaghetti in the U.S. First of all, the sauce is thinner than typical spaghetti sauce. Also, instead of being poured on top of the pasta, the al-dente pasta is simmered in the sauce for a few minutes prior to serving. That's why the sauce needs to be a little thinner, so it can coat the pasta. Since the pasta is slightly underdone, it absorbs some of the sauce as it "cooks." Yum, yum!!

Spaghetti, not capellini (angel hair) or thin spaghetti (spaghettini), is the absolute best pasta to pair with this sauce. The sauce perfectly complements the thickness of real spaghetti. Seriously. use real spaghetti.

A note on the timing:
It takes about 12 minutes for the sauce to reduce down. It takes about 11 minutes to cook the spaghetti al dente. If you add the spaghetti to the cooking water just before you add the tomatoes to the sauce, they'll get done in about the same amount of time.

Spaghetti with Tomato-Basil Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 t. red pepper flakes/chili pepper flakes
1 32 oz. can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes (imported)
1 14 oz. can diced Hunts tomatoes
1/3. c. chopped fresh basil
salt to taste

1 lb. spaghetti
6-8 qt. water
2 T kosher salt

For serving: 1-1 1/2 c. freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

As you begin preparing the sauce, bring a large pot filled with 6-8 qt. of water to a boil for the pasta. Add 2 T. salt to the water (this is important: the spaghetti will be flat if you don't salt the water enough). Once it comes to a boil, if you are not ready to cook the pasta yet, reduce the heat and cover. When you are ready to go with the pasta, turn the heat back up to high and make sure the water is boiling before you add the spaghetti.

1. Fit a food mill with the finest disk and place it over a large container.


2. Force both cans of tomatoes through the food mill. The diced tomatoes will be a little harder to get through the mill, but don't give up, eventually you will prevail.



Here is one of my favorite little tricks for cutting up whole canned tomatoes.
After you open the can, take a pair of scissors, open up the blades, and insert them point down all the way into the can (being carefull not to let juice overflow!). Then, using both your hands, snip, snip, snip your way back and forth through the tomatoes until they are cut up. It makes it much easier to get them through the food mill!

3. Set the pureed tomatoes aside. There should not be any tomato seeds in the puree.


4. Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the sliced garlic and the red pepper flakes.

5. Saute the garlic and pepper flakes, stirring often. Watch carefully to make sure the garlic does not burn. (If it does, you'll need to start over with fresh oil, garlic, and red pepper.)


6. As soon as the garlic begins to turn slightly golden, add the pureed tomatoes to the skillet. BE CAREFUL not to get burned: the oil will probably splatter a bit. Oven mitts are a good idea :)


7. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat.


8. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti. Add the pasta to the boilng water, being sure to stir it so that it does not lump together. When the water comes back to a boil, set the timer for 10 minutes. Test the pasta at 10 minutes to make sure it's not getting too soft. It should be cooked, but still firm to the tooth (al dente). It may need another minute. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and set it aside.


IMPORTANT: don't drain away all the water. Reserve about 2 cups.

9. Continue to boil the sauce over medium-high heat, stirring often, until it reduces down and thickens, but is still thinner than typical spaghetti sauce, about 11-12 minutes. As the sauce gets thicker, it may splatter.

10. Remove the sauce from the heat. Add the chopped basil to the sauce and stir well.


Here is a little trick to for chopping the basil.
Stack 5-6 leaves together, with the long side towards you. Roll the leaves up like a jelly roll and slice the leaves into thin pieces (this is called a chiffonade).





11. Check the consistency of the sauce: if it is too thick (like typical spaghetti sauce), add some of the reserved pasta water to thin it down.

12. Add salt to the sauce to taste; it may need more than you think, so add small amounts at a time so you don't get it too salty.

13. Return the sauce to medium-low heat. Add the drained spaghetti to the pan with the sauce. Stir the pasta so that all of it gets coated with sauce, and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.



Remove from the heat and serve with freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

A Ful for Love

Or more accurately, at our house, we love Ful! I'm talking about Ful Medames, the national dish of Egypt, which features fava beans. I know this is practically blasphemy, but I'm forced to admit I don't actually like fava beans, nor do I make my version of ful with them. We were first introduced to the idea of Ful in Crescent Dragonwagon's tour de force vegetarian cookbook, Passionate Vegetarian.

While I was planning menus for this week, DS put in a special request for Ful, one of his all-time favorite dishes. I understand that in Egypt and the Sudan it's usually eaten for breakfast, but as our taste for breakfast foods tends to run to eggs, cereals, and donuts, I usually prepare it for dinner. With some misgivings, I jotted it down for last night's dinner selection. While DS and I have quite often been used to eating vegetarian, DC is a devoted carnivore. Although he is very willing to try anything I cook, naturally I would prefer that he enjoy his food! But as it turned out, we ALL love ful!

Since it is not only extremely healthy and easy to prepare, as well as delicious, I thought I would share my version of Ful with you. It is basically Crescent Dragonwagon's recipe, with some minor simplifications. She calls for the traditional fava beans, but says you can substitute white beans or black-eyed peas if you prefer. I always use Great Northern beans, but I am sure that dried Lima beans or even garbanzos (chickpeas) would work fine.



Stefan's Ful Medames

Here are the ingredients you will need:

1 1/2 c. dried Great Northern beans
2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1/2 t. sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 t. turmeric (more, to taste)
1/4 c. chopped Italian parsley (leaves only)
3-6 cloves garlic, peeled and run through the garlic press
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
3 extra-large eggs, hard-cooked and diced

1. Pick over the beans to remove any foreign matter or cracked beans, then place in a colander and rinse thoroughly.


2. Spray a large, heavy soup pot with non-stick spray and put the rinsed beans in the pot. Add cold water to cover by about 2 inches. (I usually measure by adding water until it reaches the 2nd knuckle on my index finger.)


3. Add 2 t. salt, place the pot on the stove over high heat, and bring to a boil.


Here, let me just say a few words about bean cookery. Many people believe that cooking with dried beans is both time-consuming and difficult, requiring long soaking and hours of cooking. Let me reassure you, THIS IS NOT TRUE.

It is not necessary to soak most types of beans before cooking. It may take somewhat longer to cook unsoaked beans, but seriously, what's another 30 minutes or so, compared to the advance planning needed to soak the darn things beforehand? Some people do find that soaked beans are a bit easier to digest, but this is only the case if you pour out the soaking water (along with some of the nutrients!) and add fresh water for cooking.

The length of time it takes to cook dried beans will vary with the age of the bean, something we as consumers don't have much control over. It generally takes about 2 hours of cooking time for the Great Northern beans I buy to become tender (unsoaked).

Dried beans are so much more economical than canned ones, plus you have the option to season them as you like, that the advantages of using them outweigh the disadvantages.

Another myth I would like to de-bunk is that adding salt to the cooking water will toughen the beans. In my experience, this is simply not true, and the beans also taste so much better if you add salt to them while they are cooking.

4. Cover the pot, reduce the heat, and simmer until just barely tender (about 1 hr. and 45 minutes).


5. Add the cumin, paprika, turmeric, and black pepper, partially cover, and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes more.


6. The beans should not be terribly soupy, they should have absorbed most of the cooking water. (If necessary, boil uncovered for a few minutes to reduce some of the liquid. Adjust it to your liking!). Add the parsley, garlic, lemon, and olive oil, and more salt and pepper if needed. Remove from the heat. **Please note, the amount of garlic is chiefly where Crescent and I part company. She likes quite a bit more than I do! That's why I say 3-6 cloves. Adjust the garlic to your taste.

7. I should have said this earlier, but while the beans are simmering, you can be prepping the other ingredients: chopping tomatoes, cooking and dicing the eggs, peeling garlic, squeezing the lemon, chopping parsley, etc. Put the tomatoes and eggs into separate bowls and set aside.



8. Also while the beans are simmering, you can be preparing this AWESOME sesame sauce to serve with the Ful:

In the food processor, combine:
1/2 c. sesame tahini, 1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons), 1/2 t. salt, and 3 cloves of garlic, crushed in the garlic press. Add 1/2 c. water or more, to thin down the mixture to pouring consistency.



Heat the sauce in the microwave until nice and hot, but not boiling.

9. To serve, ladle some of the beans into each person's bowl. Let them add chopped tomato and egg.


Top with warm sesame sauce, and serve with pita bread.