Arthur's Heavenly Tomato Sauce

After months of grabbing quick meals, I've been dreaming of getting back into the kitchen and cooking up some of my favorite meals...which usually involve some form of pasta, fresh cheese, and thick, crusty bread.  So this weekend as I finished up my remaining projects for school, I had some free time, so I cooked for some friends.   Eggplant parmegiana, pasta with homemade sauce, a fresh green salad shot through with arugula, fresh crusty ciabatta bread.  Delicioso. 

My friends loved this sauce made from roasted tomatoes.  The taste is unbelievable.   Rich, savory, the flavor just bursts in your mouth.   You might never want to eat bottled again.   Serve it with some thick, crusty Italian bread, a salad, and some wine, and everyone will be happy.  Here's the recipe I adapted from one of my favorite food writers, Arthur Schwartz, who hosted a food radio program on WOR in New York for years.  

Roasted Tomatoes (And Sauce)
Adapted from Arthur Schwartz, The Food Maven
(Makes enough sauce for a pound of spaghetti or macaroni.)

5-6 medium very ripe tomatoes (about 2 lbs.)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2-3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/3 cup fruity olive oil
8-10 fresh basil leaves shredded or snipped
Kosher or table salt
dried or fresh spaghetti
grated Parmegiana or Asiago cheese

1.  Cut out the tomato cores with a small sharp knife.  Half tomatoes crosswise.  Coat bottom of a baking dish (Pyrex or disposable work well) with about 2 tbsp. of oil.  Arrange tomato halves, cut side up, in a pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Press minced garlic into each half; drizzle with olive oil.  Pour on any remaining oil.

2.  Place tomatoes in a preheated 375-degree oven and cook for 2 hours, basting them two or three times with the oil and the juices that collect in the pan.  When done, the tomatoes will have collapsed and some of the juices will have burned a little.  (This is good.)

3.  Cut tomatoes into small pieces and slide them into a pot.  Scrape burned bits into the pot to amalgamate into the sauce.  Heat as you cook the spaghetti.

4.  Drain the cooked spaghetti.  (I take it off the heat when it's a little al dente because it cooks a little when you add it to the sauce.)  Toss it into the sauce along with some shredded basil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  (I also add some dried oregano.)  Don't forget the red pepper flakes for everyone to add at the table if desired.

5.  Serve immediately with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Note:  This freezes well.  It also stores well if you have leftovers.

Risotto--Two Ways

There's such a thing as too many choices. Sometimes I don't mind--like the chance to have my decaf Dunkin Donuts with a shot of vanilla, light, 1 sugar---which they only get right about 25% of the time. But that's the price you pay for having so many options.

When I'm cooking for company, I'm happy to oblige those who are vegetarians or allergic to shellfish, but sometimes I feel put upon--like the night last week when I made risotto 2 ways (one for the vegetarians who didn't like onions or chicken broth and another for the carnivores with onions and chicken broth). All was fine until the dear someone I married wanted to know if I made it the way he wanted--with vegetable broth and onions. Oddio! As my Italian grandmother would say. What do I look like? A short-order cook? In the end, though, everyone was happy and the recipe came out just right. So now, I'll pass it along to you in 2 forms--one for vegetarians and the other for carnivores.

Risotto--2 Ways
(Serves 6-8 as a side dish)

1.5 cups of arborio rice
4 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 medium onion, diced
1 lb. of mushrooms (I used a mixture of mini portobellos and white)
1-2 clove(s) garlic, minced (optional)
1/4 cup white wine or more to taste. (A dry pinot grigio or chardonnay works well.)
3 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup shredded parmegiana cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste


1. Saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat.

2. When the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are browned, add the uncooked rice. Stir for 2 minutes until it's lightly browned and coated with the oil. Turn down the temperature to medium-low.

3. Add the broth one cup at a time and stir until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding and stirring while the rice cooks. If the rice starts to stick to the bottom of the pot, lower the temperature some more, add more liquid and stir again.

4. Taste the rice as it cooks. When about 15 minutes have passed and it begins to soften, add the white wine. Continue tasting and stirring until the rice is soft and becomes creamy, somewhere around 20 minutes. At that point, take it off the heat and stir in about 1/4 cup of shredded parmegiana cheese.

Serving suggestions for the carnivores: Pair this with a salad, Italian bread, and chicken piccata. For the vegetarians...just omit the chicken. In any case, enjoy!



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Review: Ristorante Il Melograno

Alberto Tartari, chef and owner of Il Melograno, has recreated a little corner of Italy in his restaurant on West 5lst Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan. Named for the pomegranate which adorns most dishes on the menu, this neighborhood spot is just large enough to seat about 50 or so lucky visitors. Dishes are prepared in the Northern Italian tradition and feature imported Italian ingredients and homemade pasta. They are made to order, fresh and hot.

Americans familiar with southern Italian cuisine might be surprised that the menu offers fish and meat dishes with potatoes, but Tartari's recipes are drawn from the Lombardy region, which encompasses Milano and is close to the border with Germany. Pasta does appear on the menu, but it's often paired with savory meat and cream sauces, also typical of northern cuisine.

As we studied the menu, one item after another caught my attention. For a while, I lingered over the veal ravioli with butter, sage, and Parmegiana sauce, but in the end I opted for a lighter dish, pictured in the photo. This luscious blend of San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and pasta melted in my mouth. If you look closely, you'll see the fresh basil and pomegranates adorning the dish. Rich and Sue tried the eggplant and penne special, Alex had the fresh pappardelle with sweet sausage sauce, peas and truffle oil, and Paul had the osso buco with roasted potatoes. Everyone declared that their dish was delicious.

Somehow we fended off the tempting offers of homemade desserts, such as tiramisu and chocolate souffle cake, and simply sipped some cappuccino. Even after paying the bill, I wanted to linger in this cozy spot with its open kitchen and winking white lights outlining the front window. But as we reluctantly stepped outside, we promised ourselves that we'd return. In fact it happened sooner than even we expected, for a few days later, we met our nephew and his girlfriend for dinner and settled into the now familiar wooden seats and ate another delicious meal. If you go, buon appetito!



501 West 51st Street
(corner of 51st and 10th)
New York, NY 10019
212.757.9290 or
www.ilmelogranonyc.com