Yet another pasta sauce
I was busy while making dinner, so no photos. But I have to write down what I did to make the sauce. It was freakin' delicious. So, here, let me share it with you, too!
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
A lot of Thai basil (3 tbsp, chopped. About?)
A lot of oregano (3 tbsp, chopped. About?)
3 bay leaves
A pinch or two (I used two) of fennel pollen
1 1-lb chub chicken Italian sausage
3-4 tbsp tomato paste
1 large can Hunt's tomato sauce
3-4 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes, seeded and grated (see the video here for easy instructions on how to do this - http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/peeling-seeding-and-grating-tomatoes/)
1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup dry sherry
2-3 tbsp table sugar
salt to taste
pepper
In my 5-quart heavy duty pot, I sweated the onions and garlic with a bit of salt in the olive oil, then added all the herbs and let them open up for a couple of minutes. Then in went the sausage, broken up and stirring until cooked. Added the tomato paste and let that caramelize a bit. Then deglazed the whole mess with the sherry, letting it cook down until there was hardly any liquid left. Added the mushrooms and let them start to cook a bit, then in went the tomato sauce and the grated tomatoes. I let the sauce simmer for a couple of hours, partially covered, until it was reduced to about half its original volume, then seasoned with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar, to taste. Served it over fresh fettuccine.
The Thai basil gave the sauce a bit of a spicy kick, and the fennel pollen highlighted the fennel-y flavor of the sausage. Next time I will probably go with all of this and add some reconstituted Porcini and the liquid to give it just another layer of subtle, meaty flavor.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
A lot of Thai basil (3 tbsp, chopped. About?)
A lot of oregano (3 tbsp, chopped. About?)
3 bay leaves
A pinch or two (I used two) of fennel pollen
1 1-lb chub chicken Italian sausage
3-4 tbsp tomato paste
1 large can Hunt's tomato sauce
3-4 lbs ripe heirloom tomatoes, seeded and grated (see the video here for easy instructions on how to do this - http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/06/peeling-seeding-and-grating-tomatoes/)
1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
1 cup dry sherry
2-3 tbsp table sugar
salt to taste
pepper
In my 5-quart heavy duty pot, I sweated the onions and garlic with a bit of salt in the olive oil, then added all the herbs and let them open up for a couple of minutes. Then in went the sausage, broken up and stirring until cooked. Added the tomato paste and let that caramelize a bit. Then deglazed the whole mess with the sherry, letting it cook down until there was hardly any liquid left. Added the mushrooms and let them start to cook a bit, then in went the tomato sauce and the grated tomatoes. I let the sauce simmer for a couple of hours, partially covered, until it was reduced to about half its original volume, then seasoned with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar, to taste. Served it over fresh fettuccine.
The Thai basil gave the sauce a bit of a spicy kick, and the fennel pollen highlighted the fennel-y flavor of the sausage. Next time I will probably go with all of this and add some reconstituted Porcini and the liquid to give it just another layer of subtle, meaty flavor.