Hello Friend!
Sorry I did not post yesterday, I didn't want to overwhelm my friends with too many posts. That being said, I bet you are wondering what I have been cookin' up for you.
Well, I would not be a good Italian girl if I did not teach you how to make pasta sauce. Now, would I?
Tonight (sorry, have to blog while the G's are asleep) I will teach you a simple "Fresco Marinara" . That means it has fresh ingredients . I had a good amount of tomatoes I needed to use up and personally I like the feel of a chunky sauce and not just a smooth Marinara.
*Disclaimer*
I just KNOW some of my family members are going to criticize me, but, EVERY ITALIAN makes THE BEST sauce....blah blah.... whatever. I personally feel my Nonna's sauce came from Jesus himself, but, hey! To each their own, right?
That being said... My sauce ROCKS ,Baby!(can you tell that I have been hearing everyone's opinion?)
Let's get started...
The Ingredients:
8 Fresh Tomatoes
2 Large Cans of Crushed Tomato
8 Cloves of Garlic
1 Large Onion
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Basil
Oregano
Dried Bay Leaves
Salt & Pepper
Whatever Veggies you want to sneak in
( I used some pretty yellow, orange and red peppers)
Step 1: Chop the onion, tomatoes, and bell pepper into a small dice. Mince the garlic.
I loved the colors!
In a large pot add a good drizzle of olive oil and heat on med-high . Once the oil is hot, add the onion and bell pepper.
Cook the onion and pepper until they are translucent and have bits of carmelization (sp)
Like this:
Add the garlic and cook for a minute, (just enough to let the raw taste come out of the garlic)
Add the diced Tomato, Salt, Pepper and Stir, then put the lid on the pot.
Meanwhile:
Open your Canned Tomatoes and place your Fresh Herbs in a blender (you can skip this part and just mince your herbs if you like. I just prefer mine to have a smooth texture)
Add one can of Tomato to the blender and blend.
Add the mixture to the pot.
Add your other can of Tomato to the pot ,too!
Next is Oregano. I am lucky enough that my Godmother, Zia Emma, gave me some oregano that she grew and dried herself. It is beautiful and smells amazing!
I would say that is a heaping tablespoon.
Next is two Bay Leaves.
Some people get freaked out by bay leaves and insist on removing them from the sauce. Personally, I made a little game of it and whichever person gets the "lucky leaf" in their pasta gets a special treat. In this case, it was Gia and she got a jelly bean.
Looking Good!!
Cover, and turn your heat down to a simmer while you cook the pasta.
Now, I used Ditalini today. Its super easy for my girls to eat and it is perfect for little fingers.
My Nonno and Nonna ordered a huge bag of it at the Ristorante' and gave me some in
what we call, "Italian Tupperware" . Before she died, my Bis-Nonna Eleonora had cupboards FULL
of ricotta containers. And yes, I do wash and re-use them... it's in my blood!! It's a Nanci thing.
Cook your pasta in heavily salted water. You want to make sure you use a man size pinch and not lady sized. Pasta needs salty water.
Drain your pasta, add it back to the pan and add a little sauce ( so your pasta will not stick).
Serve it up with more sauce on top!
( that is the way my Mom and Nonna do it. Now, so do I)
Look at that pasta!!
Cannot forget the formaggio !
Now to take it to my testers....
First up... Gia!
Look at my big girl! Using a fork!
Just Kidding! She is over the fork!
Those eyes!!
Love my Gia girl.
There is that personality!
And now my Gemma...
So happy for food, even when she doesn't feel so good.
Gah! Those cheeks!
She was shoveling that pasta in!
Like usual, Gia gives Gem her leftovers....
She is fine with that!
Enjoy!
Tanti Baci Bella!
<3 Marialisa
