Here’s the next part of our Valentine’s Day meal, the blush pasta and individual beef roulades. (For the full recipe, see my post here.) To finish off our Valentine’s menu, soon I’ll posting my recipe for dark chocolate mousse! :)
Posts Tagged ‘Tomato Sauce’
Roasted Zucchini Spaghetti Pie
Friday, July 31st, 2009Zucchini is like a blank canvas. It’s hard to find a vegetable that’s so versatile, so amazingly delicious in so many recipes, from zucchini Milanese, to zucchini latkes, to stuffed zucchini, to zucchini cookies, etc. This time of year, everyone I know is trying to find new ways to use up their zucchini.
The great thing about this pie is that you can use any roasted vegetable you have on hand. If you have the time, don’t skip the roasting step because it really deepens the vegetable’s flavor. This pie is delicious deconstructed as well…just cook up some pasta and top it with marinara sauce and roasted zucchini. Or the roasted zucchini is incredible with hummus on a whole wheat roll. Zucchini’s possibilities are truly endless.
Instead of making your own marinara sauce you can use pre-made (just make sure it’s extra thick), but making your own sauce is a great way to use up an abundance of fresh tomatoes. When I make this sauce I usually make at least a double recipe because it can be used in so many things.
Roasted Zucchini Spaghetti Pie
(Yield: 1-9” pie)
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
1 TB olive oil
¼ lb whole grain spaghetti noodles (I used Barilla)
2 c part-skim ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 egg white
¼ c fresh grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 ½ c Thick Marinara Sauce (recipe below)
Pinch salt and pepper
Cooking spray
Thick Marinara Sauce (should yield ~1 ½ c):
½ TB olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
1 ¼ c coarsely diced tomato (or 16 oz canned diced tomato, with the liquid drained out)
1 ½ oz tomato paste
1 bay leaf
¾ tsp dried basil or 1 TB fresh chopped basil
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp salt
Pinch ground black pepper
9” pie plate
Preheat the oven to 450F. Coat the sliced zucchini with 1 TB of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper; arrange the zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for ~18 minutes, flipping halfway through the cooking time; when it’s done roasting, the zucchini will be golden in spots.
For the marinara sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat in small pot with a lid. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften; add the garlic and carrot and sauté another 5-10 minutes (just until the veggies start to take on a little color). Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, salt, and pepper. Taste to adjust seasonings. Simmer with the lid on for 20-30 minutes.
Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions. Cool the pasta to room temperature, then add 1 egg, 2 TB grated Parmesan, and pinch of pepper; stir to combine.
To the ricotta cheese, mix in 1 egg, 1 egg white, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly coat the pie pan with cooking spray; spread the pasta on the bottom of the pie plate, then spread ½ of the ricotta mixture on top of the pasta. Arrange the zucchini on top of the ricotta (it’s okay if it overlaps a little), then spread the rest of the ricotta mixture on top of the zucchini. Spread the marinara sauce on top of the ricotta. Bake the pie for 20-30 minutes until it’s set. Sprinkle the remaining 2 TB of Parmesan cheese on top and allow to cool slightly before cutting.
Spaghetti with Homemade Meat Sauce
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009I think everyone has a favorite go-to tomato sauce for their pasta. This sauce is my variation on spaghetti and meatballs. If you’ve never made your own sauce, don’t be intimidated! It doesn’t take more than a couple of hours to make (and it takes less than an hour if you use ground beef instead of cubed meat), and it’s so much better than jarred sauces! This sauce gets real depth of flavor and a touch of sweetness (to balance out the tomatoes’ acidity) from the almost-caramelized onions.
Spaghetti with Homemade Meat Sauce
(Yield: ~14 servings)
1 ¾ lb beef, trimmed of fat and diced into ¼” cubes (or you can use ground meat)
2 TB olive oil, divided
½ tsp salt
2 small-medium onions, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can Redpack petite diced tomatoes (with the juice)
6 oz can tomato paste
2 bay leaves
2 cubes beef bouillon
1 TB dried basil
½ TB dried oregano
½ TB Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ c minced fresh parsley
~2 lb pasta (I use either Ronzoni Smart Taste (pictured) or Barilla Plus)
Brown the beef in 1 TB of oil over medium-high heat. Add the salt to the beef, add enough water to just cover the beef, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for ~1 hour (if there’s still more than ½ c of water in the pot after simmering for 1 hour, remove the lid and simmer for another 15 minutes). (If you’re using ground beef, just brown up the beef and proceed with the rest of the recipe…there’s no need to let it simmer for an hour.)
In a separate pot, sauté the onions and garlic in 1 TB of oil for 10-15 minutes over low heat until the onions are soft and translucent and almost caramelized. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves, bouillon, dried basil, dried oregano, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper, and cook over medium heat for ~15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and stir in the parsley and meat.
Prepare the pasta al dente according to the package instructions. Combine the sauce with the pasta and serve.
Garnish Ideas: A sprig of fresh parsley, minced fresh parsley, fresh shaved Parmesan cheese, or a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
