Post by AquarianM on Nov 11, 2006 4:45:13 GMT -5
Sadie Nofri's Mind-blowing Messina Noni Pasta...
1. If you can't make the noodles from scratch, use whole-wheat noodles. They taste just as good or better, and are much healthier for you.
2. The Sicilian word for spaghetti sauce is "Sugu."
Fill a 1-quart sauce pan with 1/2 tomato sauce and 1/2 tomato paste.
Set to a very low simmer, and I mean very low. Keep covered when not adding ingredients. Stir about every 5-7 minutes with a wooden sauce spoon.
Stir in the following spices to taste:
McCormick's Italian Seasoning.
Fresh Sage.
Oregano.
Sweet Basil.
Parsley leaves.
A small pinch of paprika.
(Hint: be liberal with them, except the paprika.)
Fresh peel five small cloves of garlic, chop finely, stir in.
Dice 1/4 of a fresh Vidalia or sweet yellow onion and stir in.
Squeeze the juice from two-three key limes into the sugu and stir in.
Brown 1/2 pound finely-chopped free-range organic chicken liver in olive oil. (Chicken liver is very lean, and needs the oil to brown without burning.) This is the real deal, hamburger is much fattier and has the wrong flavor.
Brown and drain some mild italian sausage links. Cut two of them into 2-inch pieces and stir in.
Take the other Italian sausages and simmer them in a deep-sided frying pan full of Prego or Ragu spaghetti sauce with all the above spices added, except the chicken liver.
At this point, your primary sauce in the quart pan should have been simmering more than an hour. Taste a teaspoon full of the sugu and add spices as needed. (You're going to need to, the kitchen will be smelling so good by now.)
Keep an eye on both pans of sauce, adding a dash of water as needed to keep it from drying out. You want it fairly thick, about halfway between tomato paste and tomato sauce, maybe a bit thicker.
Take a pound of hamburger, and mix in plain oatmeal as a binder until a fairly thick consistency.
Form the hamburger into two-inch meatballs.
With your finger, form a depression into the center of each meatball.
Put a teaspoon of the primary sauce into each meatball.
Close the depression with the sugu inside the meatball.
Brown the meatballs on the outside, being very gentle in turning them so as not to cause the sugu inside to leak out. Drain them.
Put the meatballs in either the sauce pan or the frying pan full of sauce and sausage as they will fit.
Simmer both pans of sugu until the primary sauce has simmered 4-6 hours, six hours being optimal.
Remember to keep stirring about every 5-6 minutes on both pans and adding water as needed!
Fresh grate plenty of parmesan cheese while the sugu is simmering.
About 30 minutes before the sugu will be done simmering, get the water for the pasta noodles on to boil. Use a big enough pan (3-4 quart) to boil a full bag of whole-wheat pasta. Add a palm full or a teaspoon full of kosher salt to the boiling water.
Set the table with a good Chianti or Sangiovese wine, Italian bread, and olive oil for dipping. (Hint: you can add italian spices much as used in the sugu above to the olive oil a few days beforehand to make it nice and flavorful.)
For an added touch, get some authentic biscotti, (annisette toast) spumoni ice cream, and Italian candies from the local Italian grocery.
When you finally let everyone seat themselves at the table, (They're going to be begging for it by now, the house will be smelling so good! Listen to those tummies growl!) yell "Mangia, mangia!" ("Eat, eat!")
Serves 4-5 people.
1. If you can't make the noodles from scratch, use whole-wheat noodles. They taste just as good or better, and are much healthier for you.
2. The Sicilian word for spaghetti sauce is "Sugu."
Fill a 1-quart sauce pan with 1/2 tomato sauce and 1/2 tomato paste.
Set to a very low simmer, and I mean very low. Keep covered when not adding ingredients. Stir about every 5-7 minutes with a wooden sauce spoon.
Stir in the following spices to taste:
McCormick's Italian Seasoning.
Fresh Sage.
Oregano.
Sweet Basil.
Parsley leaves.
A small pinch of paprika.
(Hint: be liberal with them, except the paprika.)
Fresh peel five small cloves of garlic, chop finely, stir in.
Dice 1/4 of a fresh Vidalia or sweet yellow onion and stir in.
Squeeze the juice from two-three key limes into the sugu and stir in.
Brown 1/2 pound finely-chopped free-range organic chicken liver in olive oil. (Chicken liver is very lean, and needs the oil to brown without burning.) This is the real deal, hamburger is much fattier and has the wrong flavor.
Brown and drain some mild italian sausage links. Cut two of them into 2-inch pieces and stir in.
Take the other Italian sausages and simmer them in a deep-sided frying pan full of Prego or Ragu spaghetti sauce with all the above spices added, except the chicken liver.
At this point, your primary sauce in the quart pan should have been simmering more than an hour. Taste a teaspoon full of the sugu and add spices as needed. (You're going to need to, the kitchen will be smelling so good by now.)
Keep an eye on both pans of sauce, adding a dash of water as needed to keep it from drying out. You want it fairly thick, about halfway between tomato paste and tomato sauce, maybe a bit thicker.
Take a pound of hamburger, and mix in plain oatmeal as a binder until a fairly thick consistency.
Form the hamburger into two-inch meatballs.
With your finger, form a depression into the center of each meatball.
Put a teaspoon of the primary sauce into each meatball.
Close the depression with the sugu inside the meatball.
Brown the meatballs on the outside, being very gentle in turning them so as not to cause the sugu inside to leak out. Drain them.
Put the meatballs in either the sauce pan or the frying pan full of sauce and sausage as they will fit.
Simmer both pans of sugu until the primary sauce has simmered 4-6 hours, six hours being optimal.
Remember to keep stirring about every 5-6 minutes on both pans and adding water as needed!
Fresh grate plenty of parmesan cheese while the sugu is simmering.
About 30 minutes before the sugu will be done simmering, get the water for the pasta noodles on to boil. Use a big enough pan (3-4 quart) to boil a full bag of whole-wheat pasta. Add a palm full or a teaspoon full of kosher salt to the boiling water.
Set the table with a good Chianti or Sangiovese wine, Italian bread, and olive oil for dipping. (Hint: you can add italian spices much as used in the sugu above to the olive oil a few days beforehand to make it nice and flavorful.)
For an added touch, get some authentic biscotti, (annisette toast) spumoni ice cream, and Italian candies from the local Italian grocery.
When you finally let everyone seat themselves at the table, (They're going to be begging for it by now, the house will be smelling so good! Listen to those tummies growl!) yell "Mangia, mangia!" ("Eat, eat!")
Serves 4-5 people.
