Summer Ragout
-Take the skins off of 4-6 tomatoes by cutting a big X on the bottom of each tomato and submerging them in boiling water for 5 minutes.
-Peel each tomato from the bottom up, then chop them into large chunks.
-Wash any combination of whole peppers, ancho, sweet Italian or shisito.
-You could also do an eggplant this way.
-Turn your broiler to high and put the oven rack as close to the element as possible.
-Put the peppers on a baking tray and let broil for about 10 minutes until one side is charred.
-Then flip the peppers and broil the other side.
-When the peppers are cool enough to handle, chop them up and the eggplant too if using.
-Chop up 1 head of fennel into small dice if you have it.
-You could also do a summer squash.
-Heat 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan.
-Add the chopped fennel/summer squash and sauté for 10 minutes until soft.
-Put 2 cloves of garlic through a press, then add to the fennel if using.
-Add the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
-Add a splash or two of red wine and cook for 10 minutes until tomatoes are broken apart and saucy.
-Finely chop up ¼ bunch of fresh parsley and/or a large handful of basil and then add it to the tomatoes.
-Season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and some red pepper flakes if desired.
-If you want to serve it with out any grains involved, you can make the meatball recipe below and boil the meatballs in the sauce, covered for 10 minutes.
-Or serve with pasta (Linguini? Orchetta?) and some good quality grated Parmesan cheese.
Herbed Meatballs:
Meatballs need a new name because they are awesome and their name is not.
-Use any combination of ground meat you like, our favorite is half pork and half beef, but you can also use ground turkey or chicken.
-In a large bowl combine the following:
1 pound ground meat
¼ cup finely chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, basil or flat leaf parsley)
1 egg
½ tsp sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper
-Gently mix, then shape into small 1.5 inch meatballs.
-You can simmer the meatballs in broth or tomato sauce for about 10 minutes over medium heat or you can bake the meatballs in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until nicely browned.