This is my attempted recreation of a few of the courses served to Nathan and I when we took our cooking class in Florence this past fall. Here is the recipe for the pasta...
Fresh Tasting Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti:
4-6 Servings
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes or 2 cups tomato pulp
1-2 cloves garlic mined
3-4 T EVOO
Fine sea salt plus 2-3 T salt
3 T chopped fresh basil or any combination of fresh herbs
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for topping pasta(optional)
1-Peel the tomatoes, if desired, with a vegetable peeler or by blanching the tomatoes in boiling water. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze the juice and seeds into a strainer over a bowl. Chop or process the tomatoes and add to the reserved juice. Or measure 2 cups of canned tomato pulp or drained plum tomatoes.
2-Put the garlic in a large non-stick skillet and drizzle it with 1 T. extra virgin olive oil. Place over moderate heat and cook until the garlic barely begins to color.
3-Add the tomatoes to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes look cooked and most but not all liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4-For a smooth sauce blend the cooked tomatoes in a food processor with remaining evoo and return the sauce to the skillet. For a chunky sauce add the remaining oil before serving.
5-Bring 5-6 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 2-3 B salt and the spaghetti; cook until it still offers considerable resistance to the tooth, around 3/4 cooking time.
6-Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups of the cooking water. Add the drained al dente pasta and 1/2 cup pasta cooking water to the skillet of tomato sauce. Cook over high heat, stirring to mix sauce and pasta, until the pasta is cooked. Add more pasta water if the sauce becomes too dry. Serve immediately.
Back in the fall when butternut squashes were plentiful I decided to try out a recipe I found in a magazine. It had heavy cream among other yummy ingredients and so I thought it was a no fail way to utilize a great fall crop. WRONG! It was disgusting (or excusting as my daughter says). So when my husband came home one Sunday afternoon after visiting some people from church I was not only speechless that he actually ate food from someone else's kitchen (he often worries about other people's definition of food safety) but even more shocked to hear he tried butternut squash soup and loved it. Loved it so much that he brought home a recipe and the fresh herbs from their garden to go with it. After trying to figure out if he just had them write down the recipe to be nice or not, I realized he really thought highly of this vegetable that he once frowned on. I was hesitant as I made it (recalling my previous disaster) but when I tasted it....wow....really really good! So I was happy to see that butternut squash was an ingredient (and perhaps the only one I used) but I just knew I had to share this lovely recipe. Perhaps the reason it is so good is that it has a whole stick of butter in it (yikes, I know)....but...so do cookies, right?! In my pics I experimented with only 6 Tbls to see how it was, but 1 stick did make a difference. But I love that this recipe is a one pot wonder. You throw everything in, puree, and eat. I took the pics to prove how easy it is and entice you to try it b/c I think it is divine. I only have ever used fresh herbs and can't imagine it would even resemble the same taste if they weren't fresh. First cook onions in butter while you peel and chop butternut squash.
Next, throw in squash and a carton of chicken broth and add sage, thyme, and a cube of bullion. Cover and cook until squash is tender.
Puree in blender and voila! Thin with water to your liking and season with salt/pepper to your liking.
