Sunday Dinner In The North End

Sundays. 

What starts out as the day of rest, for many of us, ends with an evening of anxiety thinking of the Monday morning list of things to do that somehow did not get themselves done over the weekend.  For me, the best way to beat a case of the Sunday night jitters is finding a distraction.

This Sunday, I’m doing something typical for me, and something a little different.

Let’s start with the news.  Tonight I’m kicking off my first blog. I’ve needed a hobby, a diversion, for some time now.  For the inner chatterbox in me this blog will be the perfect outlet.  I’m not sure where this blog will take me, or if tonight’s edition will be a one hit wonder, but I’m excited to see what it has in store for me. 

Now back to the typical.  I cook. A lot.  I learned to cook quite literally at my mother’s apron strings. She was masterful at following a recipe to the most minute detail. Every item she made came out to a picturesque result.  To this day I cannot replicate her blueberry muffins that, I swear to you, literally sparkled from the sugar dusted on top.  When my mother returned to work my dad found his way into the kitchen like a bull in a china shop.  His haphazard “thrown dinner together” style quickly became more sophisticated, from pasta and meat sauce to homemade chicken pot pie with a celery seed crust.   My technique has fallen somewhere in between.

For this evening I was inspired by Scott Conant’s Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi.  The recipe I followed for the gnudi itself can be found here- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/scott-conant/spinach-and-ricotta-gnudi-recipe.html.  I’ve been making gnocchi for years upon years now as my Sunday afternoon activity, and this looked like an interesting variant. Essentially they are massive pillows of ricotta and spinach that by the miracle of science hold together when popped in boiling water.   While I would have LOVED the porcini puree pictured in the original recipe, my boyfriend is unfortunately committed to his blind hatred of mushrooms. So instead, tonight we’ll have a fire roasted tomato sauce with red wine and basil.

The gnudi came together remarkably easily.  The base is simple: ricotta, spinach, parmesan, egg yolks, flour, panko bread crumbs, salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg. Yes, I even begrudgingly added the nutmeg.

 

Once you hand roll into little dumplings, they are simply popped into a low boiling water and cooked for two minutes.

 

 

 

Pure magic that they did not fall apart. After they are cooked you coat them in olive oil and let them sit in the refrigerator. As they sit they develop an outer skin like coating that makes for an fantastic bite.  The contrast is almost like the outside to inside of fresh burrata. When you are ready to eat, the gnudi can be reheated in buttered  (or oiled) and salted water in a fry pan. 

 

 

 

ANNA'S TOMATO SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/2 Medium or 1 Small Vidalia Onion, Minced

4 Cloves Garlic, Minced

Splash of Red Wine

Two 14.5 or One 28 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes ("Fire Roasted" if you can find it)

One 6 oz Can Tomato Paste

One Tablespoon Honey

6 to 10 Large Basil Leaves Chopped

 

The sauce is a simple one that I’ve been making for ages.  Tonight, I added a little red wine to make the layers of flavor a little more complex. 

 

 

 First, heat the finely minced onions in olive oil on medium heat until translucent and slightly browned, about 5 minutes depending on how small you minced. Add the minced garlic just before the red wine so they don’t have time to go bitter, you don't want the garlic in the oil for more than a minute.  

 

 

Once the booziness has boiled off from the wine, I add two 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes and the mini can of tomato paste.  Yes, the whole can of tomato paste. Most recipes call for one or two tablespoons worth, but, I can't bring myself to throw out the rest of the can so in it goes. Finally, I add in the honey.  The honey adds some sweetness, but more importantly, cuts the acidity.  If you are one of those people who hates/is weirded out by honey, grate 1/2 a carrot using a microplane and mix that in instead, it will accomplish the same purpose.  You want to let the whole mixture bubble up on medium then cook over low heat for about a half an hour or longer.  The cooking time breaks down the tomatoes and sweetens up the sauce.   Add the chopped basil about 5 minutes before serving. That gives it enough time for the flavors to combine, but will let the basil keep its brightness. While I do make tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes, tonight I opted for the fire roasted can tomatoes. Excellent move on my part, let me tell you. It has a smoky taste and denser texture.   

[Note: If you have left over sauce and like to make pizza, it doubles as a great pizza sauce if you boil it down a little more and add extra olive oil. If you don't like chunky sauce, pass an emersion blender through it OR run it through the blender. Feel free to freeze it for mid week meals!]

 

To finish it off more basil and, my other true love, cheese.

 

 

Now with a full stomach, and a slightly burnt tongue (I couldn’t stop myself), I am fat and happy and as ready for tomorrow as I’ll ever be.