Norma's Puttanesca Recipe
Ingredients:
- Several swirls of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 3 anchovy fillets (in oil)
- 1 35-ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted black olives, sliced--preferably kalamata or gaeta
- ½ cup pitted firm green olives, sliced--preferably Cerignola
- ¼ cup tiny capers
- Italian tomato paste in a tube (if necessary to thicken sauce)
- Crushed red pepper
- Chopped Italian fresh parsley
- Grated Pecorino Romano--preferably Locatelli brand
- 1 lb. Fusilli Bucati Corti pasta (Barilla brand makes them or any Italian cork screw type pasta)
Recipe:
- Bring salted water to boil in large pot, big enough for 1 lb. of pasta.
- Pour tomatoes into a large bowl with their liquid and crush them with your hands.
- Add the pasta to the boiling water. Stir often so they don't stick.
- In a large skillet, sauté onions then add anchovies, smashing them till dissolved. Add garlic. Sauté for a minute. Add the olives. Let mildly sizzle.
- Pour tomatoes into skillet. Add red pepper flakes. Bring to full simmer, about 5 minutes. Add capers. Let simmer a couple more minutes (add some paste if too liquid). Add some parsley. Stir.
- Drain the pasta and return it to the pot then add the sauce OR if skillet is big enough, add drained pasta directly into skillet over sauce.
- Stir pasta in sauce on medium heat. Remove from heat, stir in grated cheese, then give a swirl of olive oil, and a sprinkle of remaining parsley.
- Serve immediately.
Cristina's Roma Tomato Sauce No.2 ("My Personal Favorite")
Ingredients:
- 16 Roma (Italian plum) tomatoes, quartered
- 2 medium onions, one peeled and quartered and the other peeled and finely chopped, covered, and set aside in the refrigerator
- 2 small carrots, cut into four pieces
- 2 celery ribs, cut into four pieces
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 scallions, chopped small
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup white wine
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
Recipe:
- In a large saucepot, combine tomatoes, quartered onion, carrots, and celery and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Lower heat to simmer, cover, leaving the lid slightly open, and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
- Remove from heat.
- Purée the vegetables in a blender until smooth.
- Over another pot, pass the pureed sauce through a chinois or tomato strainer to remove the tomato skins and seeds. Do not use a strainer with tightly woven small mesh; the holes are too small and the resulting puree will be too liquid.
- Set aside.
- Heat a large saucepan on medium heat until warm, but not hot. Add the olive oil, finely chopped onions, scallions, and butter. Cook until the onions are translucent (5-8 minutes). Add the white wine and continue to cook, reducing by more than half. Add the puréed vegetables and salt, and mix well. Simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.
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