tomatoes

sugo

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Sugo is a great classic Italian sauce made with slowly simmered tomatoes to have simply on pasta, with some Parmesan and fresh basil, as a base to a bolognese or lasagna, on pizza or in soup. You can also freeze it. It is a hundred times better than any thing you can buy in a shop. It is also perfect with pasta for a vegetarian dinner party with my avocado bruschetta as a starter.

Enough for 2-3 as a pasta sauce.

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
1 onion finely chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
2 teaspoons of maple syrup or sugar to taste
1/3 cup of chopped basil leaves
½ teaspoon of dried oregano
½ to one red chilli (not chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste

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caponata

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Like pesto, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I first tried caponata. It’s the most delicious Italian aubergine stew that’s served at room temperature. It’s great with antipasti, on bread or as part of a salad. You could even leave it hot and serve it on pasta with lots of Parmesan. Even nicer the next day after its cooked.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons maple syrup or sugar
5 tablespoons olive oil
A few aubergines cut into 1 inch chunks
1 medium onion finely cubed
4 garlic cloves minced
1 400g tin of chopped plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
2 tablespoons of baby capers
A handful of pine nuts
A handful of chopped basil

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baked sea bass

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This Rick Stein sea bass recipe has all the great flavours of saffron, peppers with a hint of anchovy. One of my ex boyfriends discovered it and used to cook it for me a lot, because we loved it. So it’s perfect on a date night for a supper for two and even better with a salad. It’s a really easy to make too, so you aren’t too tired for your beloved.

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salade de tomates

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I always had this as a child, my parents lived in Paris when they were young, and came back with lots of recipes, so french food is comfort food to me. This is very nice with just crusty bread, or as a side dish to a risotto or pizzetta.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:
300g approx. of large-ish tomatoes
1 small red onion, very finely chopped
Small bunch of basil, finely chopped
Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sherry or white wine vinegar
1-2 tablespoon maple syrup
1 crushed clove of garlic (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

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mozzarella pizzaiola

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This recipe is from the Polpo cookbook and the only change I’ve made is that I’ve added maple syrup instead of the sugar. The salad dressing is made in the oven with the roasting tomatoes and takes on their flavour. Yum.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
A punnet( approx 500g) of cherry or plum tomatoes
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
A handful of chopped fresh oregano leaves
4 x 125 g mozzarella balls
Salad leaves
Salt and pepper

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