Tonight was a wild night at the cooking class. It started out as a raucous affair, and got silly from there. I checked on the way home, and there wasn’t a full moon. Go figure…
So what was the source of such giddiness? Tomatoes. I led off the Fall season classes with tomatoes. Here in New England, we have a 3+ month window of opportunity with fresh, local produce. Corn. Squashes. Herbs. And a metric ton o’tomatoes. And if the weather gods are nice, we might have another month of tomatoes before the first frost arrives. So, my class at Different Drummer’s Kitchen (http://www.differentdrummerskitchen.com/) in Northampton had some fun recipes, from an orzo salad with tomatoes, kalimata olives, and feta cheese, to a simple tomato sauce with mussels, shrimp, and scallops to caponata, with roasted tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. And while the menu was a fun one, the crowd was a riot starting before the 6:15 opening bell. They were laughing, jumping in with questions and comments, and having a great time. And so was I. I even forgot to add an ingredient. And they let me know. It was the perfect evening.
But it dawned on me this afternoon, as I was getting ready for the class, that the theme of the night wasn’t just tomatoes, but cheese and tomatoes. The perfect/classic combo. From simple cheddar sandwiches to grilled cheese to pizza to nachos, they go together because they complement each other. One of the dishes, from chef and food writer Betty Rosbottom, was a tart with tomatoes and melted bleu cheese. Oh. My . Gawd. It was perfection.
But the lighter foods had them happy, too. I took my basic, light and fast tomato sauce, and added mussels, shrimp, and scallops. Tossed on some parmesan, and the crowd was happy. Which brings up two more parts of it. The evening was tomatoes. Cheese. And easy foods. And the class liked the food. Does it get any better? Or more fun? Nope.
And here’s one of the recipes:
Everyday Fast Tomato Sauce (with seafood, too)
2-4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
8-10 tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 28 oz canned tomatoes (diced or whole)
1/4 cup white wine
6 oz (1 small can) tomato paste (optional)
1 tablespoon basil (fresh or dried)
salt and pepper to taste
In a saucepan, over a medium-high heat, add the olive oil, and then the garlic. Sauté for 20-30 seconds, until it becomes fragrant. Add the tomatoes and wine. Bring to a simmer. Add the (optional) tomato paste if the sauce is too watery. Simmer for 10-30 minutes, depending on how much time you have.
Five minutes before the sauce is ready, add the basil, salt and pepper. Check the seasoning five minutes after the basil is added. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.
Makes enough sauce to cover 1 pound of pasta.
With seafood:
A few minutes after you add the basil, add the seafood. It will all be cooked within 5 minutes, or to your liking. Seafood can include shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams, salmon, swordfish, etc. How much to add: how about a total of 1 1/2 pounds. That’ll be enough, with some extra.
Makes 4+ servings.
