Oven roasted meatball marinara

It's fresh tomato time and the cherry tomato plants are very happy.  My favorite way to use them is to make an oven roasted marinara with meatballs.  This is easy enough to do on a weeknight if you get started around 4:30-5:00.  I had an awesome soux chef, Daryl helped with gathering items, and chopping.  In summer, this is on our menu at least once per week. 

1 package spaghetti

For the meatballs:
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream (half/half or whole milk will work too)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
2 T. dried parsley
1 t. dried basil
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/4 - 1/2 t. crushed red pepper
salt and pepper
1 lb. ground sirloin

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir together all ingredients except the sirloin.  Add sirloin, and mix.  Roll into meatballs, set aside. 

For the marinara:
3 lbs. cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 - 1 large onion, chunky chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, smashed (we really like garlic)
2 t. italian seasoning
2 1/2 t. sugar
2 t. salt
1/2 - 1 t. crushed red pepper
2 T. balsamic vinegar
1 t.  ground black pepper

Put all ingredients in a dutch oven, mix together, top with meatballs and bake, uncovered, for 40-45 minutes. 

After it's cooked remove the meatballs.  I like to skim off some of the liquid so my sauce isn't too runny.  With a blender, or immersion blender, mix until smooth (or your desired consistency).  Add 1 package cooked spaghetti to the sauce, mix well.  Serve, top with meatballs, a teaspoon of mascarpone cheese, and fresh grated parmesan reggiano. 

~ Enjoy ~

Make Your Own Pizza

In my case, I make pizza for both of us.  The beauty of this dinner is that it's quick and simple, and they are individual sized pies since we each like ours with different toppings.  This is a great weeknight meal, fun family activity and everyone will love it! 

1. Tandoori Naan, usually sold in the fresh bread area of the store.
2. Simple marinara, reduced to pizza sauce thickness
3. 80/10/10 shredded cheese (mozzarella, provolone, cheddar).
4. Toppings of your choice.  Mine are: diced onion, diced bell pepper, italian sausage, pepperoni and chopped fresh basil.  My husband likes italian sausage, pepperoni, crushed red pepper and/or fresh sliced jalapeno, chopped fresh basil.

Broil on a preheated cast iron pizza pan.  Takes about 5 minutes, depending on how close to the element you place it.  Right when it comes out of the oven use a microplane to shave parmesan lightly over the top.  Let cool a few minutes so the cheese will set before cutting.

Enjoy!

Sausage Ravioli

Warning: This is nothing like the canned ravioli you might have eaten as a kid.  It's so good, it just may remind you of the "O" word.  I tend to be a creature of habit and when I find something I really like I don't mix it up and try other variations.  I will experiment in the future and share it with you when I do.  Homemade ravioli is a bit time consuming, but they freeze really well - so make up a big batch. 

Start with fresh pasta sheets.  If you don't make it yourself, you might find it in the grocery store.  I will dedicate a future post to homemade pasta.

For the filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb ground italian sausage (sweet, mild or hot).  If it's in the casings, remove it.

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

handful fresh basil, chopped

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I prefer an 80/10/10 mix of mozzarella/provolone/cheddar)

In a skillet add the olive oil, crushed red pepper and sausage.  Brown the sausage, about halfway add the onion.  The last minute or so of browning add the garlic.  When sausage is cooked through, onion is soft and the wonderful smell of garlic hits your nose turn off the heat.  Add the basil, stir and let sit about 5 minutes to cool slightly.  Put the mixture in a food processor and add the shredded cheese.  Pulse until it's minced. 

For the ravioli:

Lay out 2 pasta sheets on parchment paper; you'll need a bottom and top.  Using a small scoop (approx. 1-2 teaspoons, but will depend on how large you are making the ravioli) mound the filling in clumps on the bottom sheet of pasta leaving enough space all around to seal the ravioli.  Add the top sheet.  Seal by using a ravioli stamp or pressing with your fingers all around the filling and then cut with a pizza wheel.  Set aside as you continue to make the ravioli until all the filling is gone.  Do Not Stack The Ravioli!  They will stick together... place them on another sheet of parchment paper.  Keep going until you've used all of your pasta or the filling.  At this point you can cook, refrigerate or freeze the ravioli.

Cooking:

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the ravioli  5-10 at a time, depending on how large your pot is.  You don't want to crowd them too much and you don't want to lower the temperature of the water too much.  If you are cooking them from fresh or refrigerated, they are done in about 3-4 minutes.  If they are frozen, cook for about 5-8 minutes.  I prefer using a spider strainer to remove from the water.  If you dump them into a sink strainer, they could break.

Serving:

Plate your ravioli and top with your favorite sauce.  Mine is a simple marinara.  You don't need a lot of sauce, just enough to accent the ravioli  since they are delicious plain.  Top with freshly grated parmesan, (I use a microplane rasp grater) and fresh chopped basil.

Enjoy!

Simple Marinara

I use this sauce in a lot of things, so you will see it come up in future recipes or meals that I write about.  When I create something I don't usually measure, but for the purpose of this blog I have approximate amounts.  Keeping the title in mind it's designed to be a quick sauce for weeknight meals, hence the use of canned tomatoes, though you most certainly can use fresh. 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 med onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sugar

In a skillet saute the onion with crushed red pepper in olive oil until onion is soft, about 3-5 minutes.  During last minute, add garlic.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer/reduce until sauce has thickened.  Amount of reducing will depend on what you are using the sauce for. 

Photo 1: the sauce right after all ingredients are added; Photo 2: reduced to the right amount for my ravioli topping; Photo 3: the sauce after being blended.

Once your sauce has reduced, put it in a blender and pulse to desired consistency.  Again, depending on your use you might want it chunky, smooth or somewhere in between.  The longer the sauce has cooked the less time in the blender it will need.  If the sauce isn't thick enough after blending, put it back in the skillet to reduce a little longer.  Caution: Do not completely seal the lid on the top of the blender as the heat build up could cause the top to blow off.  I leave the center cap out and cover it lightly with a paper towel to catch any splatter.

Some final notes:

1. The onion is optional.  I use it when I have it.

2. The garlic should only be sauteed for about a minute, otherwise it will overcook and become bitter - keep this in mind if you skip the onion step.

3. Sometimes I'll add 1 - 2 teaspoons of Amore Tomato Paste just to pump up the flavor.

4. If you have fresh italian herbs, use those in the last 5 (or so) minutes of cooking and omit the dried italian seasoning.

5. Your garlic/onion/herbs only need to be rough chopped since you'll be running the sauce through the blender.

6. I use this for topping pasta/ravioli, as a pizza sauce and for meatball subs. 

7. Some of the higher quality canned tomatoes from Italy don't have salt added.  If you are using those, you may have to add a little salt to the sauce for flavor.

Enjoy!