"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
02/25/2015 at 00:59 • Filed to: Foodlopnik
8
12|
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
02/25/2015 at 00:59 • Filed to: Foodlopnik | 8
| 12 |
In the latest installment of AtlasM makes sauce in the middle of the night, I've got a batch of marinara sauce simmering away. Because that way when it's time for dinner tomorrow it'll just need to be warmed back up and ready to go. Marinara sauce is super easy to make from scratch, it just takes a little time and technique. Try the real stuff, and you'll never look at a jar of sauce the same way again.
Here's how you make my marinara sauce.
2 28-oz cans whole peeled tomatoes*
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium-large yellow onion, small dice
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 oz fresh basil leaves, chopped
1.5 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1 tiny pinch red pepper flake (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
* A note on canned tomatoes: not all of them are created equal. I like to use whole peeled tomatoes and squish them in my (thoroughly washed) hands into the pot. It takes a while but it gives a nice texture and the whole tomatoes taste way better than the ones diced or crushed at the factory.
Ok, on to the making of the sauce.
Heat your pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, and once it's shimmering, add the onions. Cook for a few minutes until they turn translucent, then add the garlic until it becomes fragrant, maybe 30 seconds.
Tomato squishing time! Turn the burner down to low heat so as to not burn your onions and garlic, and start scooping each tomato out of the can, and crush it in your hands, into the pot. This will be messy! You may notice that your tomatoes have slightly hardened ends. Use a kitchen scissors to snip these off—you don't want them in your sauce. Once you've squished all the tomatoes, pour the juice from the cans into the pot as well.
Add your fresh basil & dried seasonings, bring the heat back up to medium to get the sauce simmering, then turn down to medium-low and cover. Let simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
Taste to check seasoning, and add salt/pepper as needed. Fish the bay leaves out with a tongs, and discard.
That's it! You're done. You can make this ahead of time so when it's time to make some pasta, you have the sauce ready to go. This should make a big batch, more than enough for a whole 1 lb box of pasta, or fresh pasta if you're feeling adventurous.
Xyl0c41n3
> Textured Soy Protein
02/25/2015 at 01:15 |
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I'm a fan of hand-squishing tomatoes, too. Glad I'm not the only one. ^_^
Birddog
> Textured Soy Protein
02/25/2015 at 01:48 |
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Have you tried Anchovies in your sauce?
I made a Foodspin recipe yesterday that blew my mind.
orcim
> Birddog
02/25/2015 at 01:51 |
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Sometimes I just use a good quality fish sauce, too. I keep it in the fridge for those times when I have to bring the notes lower on my cooking.
Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
> Textured Soy Protein
02/25/2015 at 09:06 |
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I make my homemade pasta sauce with:
2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes (prefer unsalted)
About half of a small onion, diced (red or white onion)
A few cloves of garlic, diced or like 2-3 tablespoons of the jarred stuff
Lots of pepper, parsley, oregano, and a little salt
Plus the most important ingredient, 1 full pound of ground turkey meat (browned on a pan with pepper, garlic, onions, and oregano to spice)
Usually turns out pretty awesome and will last me the whole week!
horspowr1001
> Textured Soy Protein
02/25/2015 at 10:01 |
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* A note on canned tomatoes: not all of them are created equal.
Long explanation/question: Some marinara or pasta sauce is sweet, which I don't think makes for a good pasta dish. I much prefer a very strong tarty/tomato-ey flavor (though not necessarily salty). So far, I've pretty much ruled out many brands of pre-made pasta sauce as all of these are too sweet. In the couple times I've made marinara, it's been a slightly mixed bag as far as getting the flavor right using canned tomatoes, so this makes me think it really comes down to the tomato itself.
Have any tips on this? Do you know any specific type of whole tomato (roma, plum, cherry, beefsteak, on the vine, etc) or canned tomato brand that will give me the flavor I'm looking for? Should I be trying to find whole tomatoes that have just ripened or almost-ripened?
uofime
> horspowr1001
02/25/2015 at 10:32 |
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Cento is my preferred brand of canned tomatoes. if you can find their whole peeled san marzanos those are great.
if you want a really bright sauce you need to avoid cooking it for very long, say 30mins tops. You can taste test to find out what exactly you want. The longer you cook it the darker it will get, I'm not sure I'd call it sweeter but I think that is what you mean.
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horspowr1001
> uofime
02/25/2015 at 10:54 |
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Thanks! Yeah, I suppose the flavor I want has been correlated to how dark and thick the sauce is. Most of the ones I've liked have not been dark at all.
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Textured Soy Protein
> Birddog
02/25/2015 at 11:10 |
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I know where you're going with that, and while I don't use anchovies, I do use something similar: I do 1 tbsp of fish sauce or oyster sauce. It definitely adds a depth of flavor. I left that out of this recipe for sake of simplicity.
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Textured Soy Protein
> horspowr1001
02/25/2015 at 11:20 |
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The sweetness you're noticing in jarred pasta sauce is because it usually has a bunch of added sugar. You do want a little bit of sugar to cut through the acidity from the tomatoes, but only a little bit.
Fresh tomatoes are much more hit-and-miss than canned. Getting a good fresh tomato, especially any time other than the middle of summer, is difficult.
Canned are also hit-and-miss, but if you go for the whole peeled ones that's at least a good first step. There are a lot of taste tests out there with varying results. A couple brands with consistently decent reviews are Cento and Bella Terra.
Nibbles
> Textured Soy Protein
02/25/2015 at 12:21 |
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PROTIP: If your sauce is coming out too acidic you can quarter a potato, wash it well and stick it in the sauce for a while. It will raise the pH without harming the taste or texture.
Steve in Manhattan
> Textured Soy Protein
02/25/2015 at 19:06 |
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Next time try half Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes - it gives it just a little something extra. My recipe is simpler- no oregano, garlic, bay - but yours sounds good.
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Textured Soy Protein
> Steve in Manhattan
02/25/2015 at 23:05 |
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I've used those in various other things. There's something a little funky about them. I make a roasted tomato salsa in the summer time where I put tomatoes on the charcoal grill, but the canned fire roasted tomatoes don't quite do it for me.