I live in Italian with an Italian. Not a great moment to be living there, though great for cooking!
Anyway, I have nothing much to add except "less is more"and I’d second or third or whatever the good tomato motion.
Also, most Italians in most situation use garlic or onions, but not both. They are thought to clash. I don’t agree with that in every possible situation, but for a simple sauce I would do one or the other, in my case garlic. And most Italians will slice the garlic and let it infuse in the heating oil and then take it out. But I leave it in or eat it, it’s healthy!
I think I’d be careful with the cubanelle and bell peppers; those can overwhelm a sauce if you’re not judicious with the quantity.
I’d also save the salt until the end, and something I’ve learned is that it’s often good to taste the sauce at the end, and if it seems to be missing something, that something is often brightness/acidity, and adding lemon juice or in this case, red wine vinegar will often perk the sauce up. It doesn’t take much though- I’d add by the 1/8 teaspoon (or less) until I had it right.
Every time I make red pasta sauce my recipe is a little different because I like to “experiment” with whatever I have on hand. I do like to mash a couple anchovies and use add them to my sauce. Like many others I like some oregano; dried is fine, but we have a few different varieties growing so I’ll hadd some of that along with fresh basil.
Thanks to everyone for all the ideas. Very generous. Now I have knowledge to learn about traditional approaches and inspiration to try my own ideas.
Here’s your reward. I’ve known about this recipe for a while and tried it today for the first time with outstanding results.
Chicken in pepitoria (almond) sauce:
In a large non-stick pan, brown chicken and set aside. In same pan, sauté onion and garlic. Meanwhile (beforehand is better), boil eggs and, in a small skillet over very low heat, toast almonds without any oil or anything. Remove from skillet and set aside. With the skillet off the heat, add a little saffron to toast it, too, and set it aside. Now add some olive oil to the skillet, toast a slice of “French” bread (hard, dried-out bread works best) on both sides and set aside. Peel eggs and set aside yolks. With a blender, whizz up the almonds, the saffron, the bread, the yolks and a little white wine, and pour the mixture into the pan with the onion and garlic. Mix and add chicken. You can swish a little water around in the blender to get all the mixture out, but bear in mind that when cooking starts you want just enough sauce to cook the chicken for about half an hour (see below) on low heat, so be careful not to end up with too much liquid. Obviously, chicken broth is better than water, but I just used water and half a chicken bouillon cube. About cooking time, I cooked a drumstick and a thigh uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes on each side, and a whole chicken will take longer, maybe 35 to 40 minutes. Before serving, chop parsley and the hard-boiled egg whites and sprinkle over each plate.
Do it right: Disconnect the phone, sop up the sauce with your favorite crusty white bread, and pass out on the couch for an hour or two.
Certainly some interesting ideas. It’s necesssary to cook a longer time if you are using canned tomatoes, because of the citric acid they add to it. Fresh tomatoes don’t require it, but then it’s a rare thing to find a decent fresh tomato around here, except for the ones I grow myself. Your typical Italian chef won’t use suger. They use stuff like sweet peppers and or basil for sweetness. I’m not talking about American Italians. Most always have a great, basic, sauce, and build their bolo’s or whatever off of that.
My tip for you is to brown tomato paste in the oil a bit, and try tomato powder and water for paste. 3 to 1 ratio.
Ugh. Way too much. For a simple marinara, sauté four minced cloves of garlic in two tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil. When they take on color, add salt, pepper, a few dashes of crushed red pepper, then add a 28 oz can of crushed tomato, preferably San Marzano. Simmer for a bit, then add a handful each of chopped basil and parsley. Cook until done.
It may be; it’s just my preference not to use it. My mother (who was definitely NOT Italian) always put it in her spaghetti sauce, but then she put pretty much everything in her kitchen sink sauce, including olives and a ton of rosemary that we picked out of our teeth for hours after. I don’t think celery adds much in this instance, but am a fan of it in other dishes, especially Creole/Cajun dishes, and in salads.
Good man! Mail me a few jars of your home tomatoes, willya?
I never used parsley either, until I read Henry Hill’s Wiseguy Cookbook, where I learned it’s a regular Sicilian-American thing. He was…persuasive. And it does add a nice brightness.
Good woman. But darn, I’m nearly out of home canned for the season… I’m even having to self-ration till next September. Maybe next year.
Don’t get me wrong, I love fresh Italian parsley in lots of tomato sauces I make. Happily, it self-sows in my garden each year. I just don’t prefer it in this particular concoction. May have to revisit, however, on the recommendations of two such illustrious Doper chefs!
I’m a BOY, I’m a BOY, though my Ma won’t admit it! I’m a BOY, I’m a BOY, but if I say I am I’ll git it.
Do try a lollop of parsley next time, and report back.
Also, I ain’t no CHEF. A chef is a fucking executive, who doesn’t get his fancy little pink hands in the bloody dripping offal and the hot soup stock. I’m a working man… a COOK, damn it!
LOL, you are making me laugh hard, and that is something I truly appreciate these days!
I did actually debate the nomenclature of ‘cook’ v. ‘chef,’ but I didn’t wish to take any professional training Chefguy has for granted. Though I have the feeling he wouldn’t feel awful about offal.
I will try some parsley next time and I will report back.
This is exactly how the marinara sauce at the Calabrian ristorante I worked at was made. It was lighter on the basil and heavier on the parsley, but that was as much for cost as flavor.
It’s certainly not just Sicilian-American. Marcella Hazan describes it thusly:
“It is the fundamental herb of Italian cooking. It is found nearly everywhere, and there are comparatively few sauces for pasta, few soups, and a few meat dishes that don’t begin by sauteing chopped parsley with other ingredients. On many occasions, it is added again, raw, sprinkled over a finished dish that, without the fresh parsley fragrance hovering over it, might seem incomplete.” For example, I love to finish penne all’arrabiata with parsley. I used to use basil, but I think parsley does work better with the chili heat (and I came across it maybe twenty or so years ago researching the dish for one reason or another.)
Parsley’s a very old and abundant ingredient the world over, as noted upthread. A lot of people use it when they boil artichoke hearts (tie stalks with leaves into a knot, remove after cooking), and I’ve heard that a parsley omellete is surprisingly delicious. It definitely has a flavor, but I haven’t been able to notice it so far when I use it in cooked dishes such as these sauces. Maybe I need to try that omelette a few times to appreciate the flavor. For me, most of its value is the color it adds.
I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not a trained chef. I chose the username on a whim, as it’s easier to use than Reallygoodhomecookguy. I have taken some professional grade classes in the past, but not been to a full-time culinary school, nor worked in a restaurant. I’d change the name, but is seems like too much trouble to bother with.
I have taken some professional grade classes in the past, but not been to a full-time culinary school, nor worked in a restaurant. I’d change the name, but is seems like too much trouble to bother with.