Fascinating, thank you. Marcella Hazan has a recipe in "Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking" for a tomato sauce with butter; I'm not sure if her cuisine considered Italian or Italian-American? In any case, maybe the butter she uses is of a different character to Irish butter but we found it a bit overpowering; best to save the butter for the spuds was our conclusion.
When we were growing up the only tinned tomatoes you could get were not good quality, to say the least. Now I can go to Dunnes Stores and for a few quid buy incredibile Pomodoro di San Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino (D.O.P.); it's tough to make a bad sauce with great tomatoes, whatever variations I might employ.
Incidentally I know it's not the orthodox treatment but when I use garlic in a sauce like this I blanch whole cloves in simmering water for a few minutes first (I use the water I cook the pasta in); then I mash it with a fork and stir it into the sauce at the end. It gives the sauce a very mellow garlic flavour, and you still whatever nutritional benefit there is in consuming the garlic flesh.
Yes I think it was the Marcella Hazan recipe that was mentioned to me as a real Italian recipe using butter…and I was like “who’s Marcella Hazan?” 😂😂
I don’t think she’s that known in Italy…and it’s no coincidence she was born in Emilia Romagna , the place where in my research people mention butter (but more in the soffritto tbh)
This is such a wonderful example of "if music be the food of love" - both for the passion and for the love of each other and our families. You inspire me not to let my mom's cooking die either as she never wrote anything down nor did she always answer my "why?" questions, but that was mom <3
Because I believe that the only way to preserve oral traditions is to do it orally. It’s great to write things down and transcribe recipes for sure but for me that’s like taking a snapshot…more than preserving. It’s like recording a traditional musician playing a certain tune on a particular day of his life…
A really great read...have to say, I learned my red sauce from my wife and we put almost everything in it except the kitchen sink! Usually use canned crushed and sauce and tomato paste. Always onion and garlic, but sweat the onion low and slow to bring out sweetness. Garlic always after tomato has been added, so no burning. And an insane medley of herbs...rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil and parsely. Fresh when available. Red wine and a splash of worchestershire, simmered to thicken and used for pasta or pizza.
My family is a mix of northern and southern Italy and so we always had tomato sauce made only with tomato paste. Occasionally, my mother would grind up plum tomatoes from a can and separate out the seeds as you mentioned. But usually it was just tomato paste, olive oil, and sautéd meat, chicken or meatballs.
There were two ways she would do it. One was the one I hated – she would boil chicken and then freeze the stock, and put the boiled chicken directly into the sauce. The other that I found more flavorful, but she would sauté the chicken pieces and then add tomato paste and some water to cook it down and then the rest of the herbs and spices.
Very interesting…you know that nowadays chicken on pasta or pizza is a big no no in Italy. I’m trying to figure out why as I know it existed in the past and often emigrant communities is where you can see a connection with the past in a more clear way…that’s why I was asking
Fascinating, thank you. Marcella Hazan has a recipe in "Essentials Of Classic Italian Cooking" for a tomato sauce with butter; I'm not sure if her cuisine considered Italian or Italian-American? In any case, maybe the butter she uses is of a different character to Irish butter but we found it a bit overpowering; best to save the butter for the spuds was our conclusion.
When we were growing up the only tinned tomatoes you could get were not good quality, to say the least. Now I can go to Dunnes Stores and for a few quid buy incredibile Pomodoro di San Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino (D.O.P.); it's tough to make a bad sauce with great tomatoes, whatever variations I might employ.
Incidentally I know it's not the orthodox treatment but when I use garlic in a sauce like this I blanch whole cloves in simmering water for a few minutes first (I use the water I cook the pasta in); then I mash it with a fork and stir it into the sauce at the end. It gives the sauce a very mellow garlic flavour, and you still whatever nutritional benefit there is in consuming the garlic flesh.
Also: can we hear more about the Carbonara wars?!
Yes I think it was the Marcella Hazan recipe that was mentioned to me as a real Italian recipe using butter…and I was like “who’s Marcella Hazan?” 😂😂
I don’t think she’s that known in Italy…and it’s no coincidence she was born in Emilia Romagna , the place where in my research people mention butter (but more in the soffritto tbh)
Thank you. This is more entertaining (and instructive) than a good "thriller".
😂😂😂
This is such a wonderful example of "if music be the food of love" - both for the passion and for the love of each other and our families. You inspire me not to let my mom's cooking die either as she never wrote anything down nor did she always answer my "why?" questions, but that was mom <3
Because I believe that the only way to preserve oral traditions is to do it orally. It’s great to write things down and transcribe recipes for sure but for me that’s like taking a snapshot…more than preserving. It’s like recording a traditional musician playing a certain tune on a particular day of his life…
A really great read...have to say, I learned my red sauce from my wife and we put almost everything in it except the kitchen sink! Usually use canned crushed and sauce and tomato paste. Always onion and garlic, but sweat the onion low and slow to bring out sweetness. Garlic always after tomato has been added, so no burning. And an insane medley of herbs...rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil and parsely. Fresh when available. Red wine and a splash of worchestershire, simmered to thicken and used for pasta or pizza.
I love this whole project and exposition! Entertaining, and also reassuring, to know that there’s no ONE right way to do this.
Love the illustrations as much as the info! Would love a cookbook of ideas and information in this style! Wonderful!
Oh that has been my idea since day 1…I’m working it out over here and one day…
My family is a mix of northern and southern Italy and so we always had tomato sauce made only with tomato paste. Occasionally, my mother would grind up plum tomatoes from a can and separate out the seeds as you mentioned. But usually it was just tomato paste, olive oil, and sautéd meat, chicken or meatballs.
Tell me more about the chicken…how did they make that sauce?
There were two ways she would do it. One was the one I hated – she would boil chicken and then freeze the stock, and put the boiled chicken directly into the sauce. The other that I found more flavorful, but she would sauté the chicken pieces and then add tomato paste and some water to cook it down and then the rest of the herbs and spices.
Very interesting…you know that nowadays chicken on pasta or pizza is a big no no in Italy. I’m trying to figure out why as I know it existed in the past and often emigrant communities is where you can see a connection with the past in a more clear way…that’s why I was asking
Thanks Francesco, I love your ecumenical approach to cooking as well as music❤️
In fairness I think that would be an ecumenical matter
😄