Saturday, February 25, 2006

Pasta with Vegetable-Tomato Sauce


Pastatomatovegsauce
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

2 (28-oz) cans whole tomatoes
1 1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 1/3 cup carrots, chopped
1 1/3 cup celery, with leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil
Pull the tomatoes from the cans and place them in a food processor or food mill. Add 1 cup of the juice from the cans. Puree until smooth.
Place the tomato puree in a large saucepan and add onions, carrots, celery, parsley, sugar and salt. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
When the vegetables are cooked, transfer the mixture to a food processor or food mill and puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan.
Add the olive oil and simmer over low heat an additional 15 minutes.
Adapted from “The Joy of Pasta.” By Joe Famularo and Louise Imperiale, Barron’s 1983.

Three-Egg Pasta
(5 to 6 servings, about 1 pound)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lukewarm water or milk
Put the flour on a flat surface or in a bowl and make a well in the center deep enough to hold all the other ingredients.
Break the eggs into the well and add the other ingredients. With a fork, whisk the wet ingredients together. Then begin knocking some of the flour into the egg mixture with the fork, a little at a time. Once a thick paste has formed, stop using the fork and start working the rest of the flour in with your fingers, until you get most of the flour incorporated into a ball of dough. You will have some residual flour and scraps left. They can be kneaded into the dough ball, but can be discarded.
Move the ball to a clean surface that has been freshly-dusted with flour. Knead the dough for 9-10 minutes, until the ball is smooth and satiny and not tough. Cover it with a bowl or tea towel and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
Note: The basic rule is for every egg, use 3/4 cup of flour. If you use 1 egg, use 3/4 cup of flour; 1 1/2 cup flour for 2 eggs, and so on. One-egg pasta will yield about 1/2 pound, two-egg pasta will yield about 3/4 pound.

From “The Joy of Pasta” by Joe Famularo & Louise Imperiale, Barron’s 1983.
For The Lancaster News