Mirepoix Tuna-Tomato Sauce

Mirepoix Tuna-Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Testing out Flickr's blogging functionality and documenting this variant of this tuna-tomato sauce staple. Basically added a mirepoix for more vegetal goodness, a dash of cayenne pepper for zing, and a can of tomato sauce for added liquidity.

• 8-10 oz. pasta (used whole wheat penne)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped (about 1 cup in picture)
• 1/4 cup celery, diced (about 1/2 cup in picture)
• 1/4 cup carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup in picture)
• 1 5 oz. can chunk tuna, drained
• 1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• 1 6 oz. can tomato sauce, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne powder, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh herbs for garnish

Prepare pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, saute onion, celery and carrot in oil over medium heat till onion begins to soften, 3-5 minutes.

Add tuna and stir to mix thoroughly. Add tomatoes, turn heat to medium-high, then cook till mixture begins to become saucy (10-15 minutes), or less if you're impatient. If it gets dry, add some tomato sauce.

Season with cayenne powder, salt and pepper. When sauce is at desired consistency, remove from heat, adjust seasoning, garnish and serve over pasta.

Mirepoix Tomato Sauce

Alright, not quite, since the proportions of onion, celery and carrot are equal. But it's a quick, simple sauce, straight out of Bittman, and its aromatic sweetness was the perfect counterpoint to the chicken breasts in ancho chile sauce that John made to go with it.

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 28 oz. can tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook till tender, 5-10 minutes.

Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pot, with salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook till the tomatoes break down and the mixture is saucy, about 10-25 minutes.

Serve over pasta or meat.

Slow-Cooked Green Beans 2

The market was beautiful last Sunday, and the bags-of-mixed-veg lady ($4 per instead of her usual $3, alas, though she hopes to have the prices back down soon) had irresistible green beans and Brussels sprouts for sale.This recipe is a riff on the one in both Bittmans - just increased the amount of onion and tomato, added garlic and seasoned with fish sauce at the end.

NOTE: Apparently, I have cooked this before. While that version is good, I'm ok with the double-post because of the picture and the patis variant.

• 1.75 lbs. green beans, trimmed
• 1-1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1-1/2 cup tomato, chopped (mine was a mix of hand-crushed and diced)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup water, plus more if needed
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• at least 1 tsp. fish sauce (patis)

Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover tightly and cook over medium-low heat for at least one hour, checking every 15 minues and adding a couple of tablespoons of water if necessary.

When the beans are very tender and the liquid is gone (didn't wait quite that long in this case - they were falling apart and creamy-tender about 1-1/2 hour in), they're ready. Season with fish sauce to taste.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Guac It to Me!

I had never made guacamole before - but I'm feeling poorly again, and have been craving some chicken tortilla soup that requires it for a garnish. A slight modification of Alton Brown's recipe (to fit the contents of my pantry) produced something rich and flavorful, more than capable of standing on its own.

• 1 avocado, seeded and peeled
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
• 1/4 large red onion, diced
• 1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced (used about 2/3 cup of canned Muir Glens)
• 1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Combine avocado and lime juice in a nonreactive bowl. When avocado is coated, drain and reserve any leftover juice.

Add salt, cumin and cayenne; mix and mash together (used two forks).

Add red onion, tomato, cilantro and garlic. Mix and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Add reserved lime juice (if any - there wasn't any for me). Let sit at room temperature for an hour, then serve.

Chicken Cutlets en Papillote with Grated Vegetables

Last night was the first time we tried "poaching" chicken in parchment packets in the oven. John was skeptical at first. But, after tasting the long-cooked but still moist and flavorful meat, he vowed to "always trust the Bittman." The recipe below is based on the one in the first How to Cook Everything, but halved; where we varied, the original is in parentheses. Next time, I'll try using even more vegetables (and a larger variety thereof) - they cooked down to next to nothing, but were very flavorful. All in all, a satisfying autumn dinner (with scallion-topped couscous as the starch).

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
• skipped the slices of ripe tomato
• 1-1/2 cups grated vegetables (original: 1 cup, though we'll want to use even more - this time, the veg were squash and onions)
• 2 sprigs marjoram (original: 6 fresh tarragon leaves)
  
• about 1 tbsp. olive oil
• a few drops of balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Grate the vegetables.

Tear off a 1-1/2 to 2 foot square piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper (we were lazy and wrapped both breasts in one packet).

Place the cutlets on the foil/paper. Top with vegetables, then drizzle with oil and vinegar.

Seal the packages. Place them in a large baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes (took us more like 45 minutes); the chicken will be white and tender when done.

Serve.

Afritadang Manok (Chicken Sauteed with Tomato Sauce and Vegetables)

Market Manila's discussion of this dish rightly notes that, for such a comfort food, "[o]ne shouldn’t really have a recipe...rather it is done by mood and feel and available ingredients." Nevertheless, I like having jumping off points. A quick Googling revealed a wide variety of recipes - including one with oyster sauce and ginger - but I decided to stick with the basics. The recipe below is based off this one - how could I resist an entire head of garlic to start with? It's now cooling on my stove, and both John and I agree that it tastes good - deep, almost creamy with a tang given to it by the fish sauce. Next time, I think I'll add some peas and more chicken (I only had 1.8 lbs. vs. the recommended 2.2). I'll probably throw in some bay leaves, too.

• 3 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium head garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced (may use more next time)
• 4 chicken thighs, skin-on
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp. patis (or more to taste)
• 5 medium potatoes, halved or quartered
• 3-5 medium carrots, cut about the same size as the potatoes
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic till softening, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken and slightly brown, 4-7 minutes. Remove from pot; add tomatoes and saute till soft - 2-4 minutes. Return chicken to pot. (This came to pass because I forgot about the tomatoes; I assume it's fine to saute them along with the onion and garlic.)

Add tomato sauce, stock and patis. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 or so minutes, till chicken is almost done.

Add carrots and potatoes to pot. Cook till almost done - 10-15 minutes or so.

Add peppers to pot. Cook till slightly softened - 3-5 minutes. Adjust seasonings, then serve with lots of white rice.