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05/21/08 |
            
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Rhubarb & Fennel tomato sauce Yields about a quart or so 1 lb. fresh rhubarb, large dice 6 ea. golden shallots, minced 3 ea. garlic cloves, crushed 2 ea. 16-oz can tomato sauce 1 ea. 16-oz can crushed tomatoes 1 bn. bronze fennel tops, chopped 2 t. fresh thyme, chopped 2 T. fresh oregano, chopped 2 T. fresh basil, chiffonade 1 c. ruby port wine
In a large pot (like a Dutch oven or a small stock pot) over medium heat, sweat the shallots, rhubarb and garlic in a bit of olive oil. NO COLOR!!!! Just sweating the veg to break down the rhubarb and make everything aromatic. When the rhubarb starts to get soft (about 10 mins.) deglaze with the port and add the tomato products. Reduce heat to low and keep a bare simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. After that hour, stir in your fresh herbs. Simmer for a further 60 minutes (about 25% reduction or so), remove from heat, cool and store. Because of its chunky nature, I think this sauce would be awesome on most short pastas.
Note from GG: My mom's got one of the greatest gardens of all time. Just about anything I want is out there (within reason, of course), and I'm always excited to get to cookin' when spring and summer hit. On a recent trip there, I found all of the above ingredients in abundance, so after a quick scan of the pantry (lots of canned tomato stuff), I decided to make a tomato sauce. Honestly, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from it, but it's pretty incredible. The rhubarb's sourness offsets the sweet from the port and the canned toms, while the herbs add nice notes of flavour here and there. Mostly, I did this recipe because Mom was certain that her fennel, which makes no bulbs to eat, was completely useless. Not so much. I'd like to also remind you to not add the fresh herbs in too early, as their flavours can get cooked out over time. Just put 'em in when the sauce is already well underway. Other than that, this is pretty easy to knock out!
This site was last updated 05/21/08 |
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