Here's a good full meal for you.
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Roasted Tomato Sauce
There is no sense in making a small batch of
tomato sauce, as it takes hours and freezes
well; I roast a 20-pound case of tomatoes at
a time at the restaurant and about half that
at home.
10 lbs. ripe or, even better, overripe
tomatoes (I like the “Early Girl” variety)
4 sliced red onions
2 bulbs sliced fennel
1 bunch basil
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. crushed red pepper
Handful of salt
1 cup olive oil
2 cups white wine
2 Tbsp. capers
2 Tbsp. pitted olives, torn into quarters
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Core the
tomatoes and cut in half, put them in a
roasting pan, season with salt, add bay leaf
and basil, stem and all. Scatter with sliced
onions and fennel, add crushed red pepper,
season again with salt, drizzle with olive
oil, and put in oven. Check every half hour
and shake the pan to settle the juices. After
two hours or so, the onions and fennel
should be nice and caramelized; at that
point, stir the pan and add the wine.
Continue roasting for another hour to
concentrate the flavors a bit. Once I feel
satisfied with the sweet roasted flavor of
the tomato and carmelization of the
vegetables, I take them out of the oven.
My favorite way to puree the sauce is in
a food mill, but a blender or electric food
processor is fine. Then pass the sauce
through a fine strainer to remove all the
seeds and skins, pressing all the juices
through using the bottom of a ladle. Discard
the skins and seeds, taste for seasoning,
and your sauce is ready. Refrigerate or
freeze what you want to save for later.
For the polpettes, heat about a cup and a
half of the tomato sauce and add the capers
and olives. Divide the hot tomato sauce
onto four plates, put four polpettes on
each plate, sprinkle with chopped parsley,
and serve hot.
Spicy Albacore Polpettes with Tomato Sauce, Olives, & Capers
1 lb. fresh albacore
1 medium onion, diced small
1 tsp. fresh jalapeño, diced fine
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. toasted pine nuts, chopped
2 Tbsp. currants
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
Salt and black pepper
Flour for coating
Olive oil for frying
Boil one cup of water and add currants to
soften for about 10 minutes; then drain
and cool. Soak the breadcrumbs in the
milk; stir every few minutes so the bread
soaks up all the milk. Over medium heat,
sauté the onions, jalapeño, and oregano in
the olive oil until soft but not browned;
season with salt and pepper. Once cooked,
put the onion mixture into a large mixing
bowl and chill. Dice the Albacore as finely
as you can. This is easiest when it’s cold:
first slice it thinly, cut the slices into strips,
and then mince (dice into the smallest
pieces you can make). By the time you are
done cutting the fish, the onions and
currants should be cool enough to mix
together. Put the albacore and chopped
pine nuts in the mixing bowl with the onion
mixture , season again with salt and pepper,
and mix. Add the breadcrumbs and mix
vigorously to form a sort of emulsified
dough. This can all be done in advance and
put in the refrigerator.
When you are ready to eat, heat about
half an inch of oil in a sauté pan over
medium heat. Form the albacore mixture
into balls, about as big around as a silver
dollar, or a little bit more than one ounce
each. You should have 16 balls (polpettes).
Roll the polpettes in a little bit of flour to
coat them evenly and then drop them into
the hot oil. You want a nice golden color,
so make sure the oil does not get too hot.
Roll the polpettes around to brown all
sides, about 4 minutes. Remove them from
the oil using tongs or a slotted spoon and
place on a paper towel to absorb excess
oil.
Serve hot on a plate of tomato sauce.
Arugula Salad
Spicy Albacore Polpette with
Tomato Sauce, Olives, and
Capers ... continued
1 lb. arugula, washed and dried
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Pepper
In Italy, this type of very simple preparation
is typical for a side salad. It cleanses the
palate, and the slight bitterness of the
arugula contrasts nicely with the sweetness
of the tomato and the richness of the
albacore. Right before eating, simply toss
the arugula with the olive oil, sprinkle with
salt and pepper, and serve in the center of
the table. In place of bread you can use
forkfuls of greens to mop up the tomato
sauce from your plate.
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