Tomorrow is the first day of winter, and that means those of us up North are settling into many months of cold and seasonal depression. And in my case, bitching about how cold and depressing it is. It also means that any fresh tomato you buy sucks. Ah, another thing to complain about.What's a girl or boy who has resigned to eat seasonally, or just committed to flavor to do? And, now that we're all avoiding commercially canned goods because of their BPA lining, canned tomatoes are out of the picture. It's looking pretty grim for all those winter hearty pastas, stews, and casseroles that call for tomatoes, that's for sure.
My solution for getting around crappy tomatoes in the off-season is to make what we've been calling around here "red sauce." Red sauce is nothing more than carrots, beets, onions, and garlic that, when cooked and pureed, come together into a vibrant, savory, red sauce with a hint of sweetness. If you didn't tell anyone that they weren't eating tomato sauce, they might not even second guess red sauce.To be honest, we don't make red sauce just in the winter; we like it so much we make it year round. Red sauce can be used almost anywhere you would tomato sauce. We slather it on pasta, pizza, meatballs, and sloppy joes.
I'm posting this recipe for mostly selfish reasons (I'm tired of looking it up in a book), but I encourage you all to give this recipe a go. Especially in godforsaken, tomato-less winter.
Pizza loves red sauce!Red Sauce
adapted from Yoga Kitchen
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
4 cups peeled and chopped carrots
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
1 medium beet, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Melt butter in a large skillet. Add carrots, onion, and garlic. Cover and saute, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.
- Meanwhile, in a saucepan, boil beets until tender. Drain.
- Transfer beets and carrots to a blender. Add all remaining ingredients and puree until smooth.
16 comments:
This looks great! thanks for sharing :)
How serious is this BPA thing? You're telling me you avoid *all* canned goods? Even restaurant foods made with canned goods (pizza and pasta come to mind)?
Sherm - BPA is an endocrine disruptor, and many countries have banned BPA in consumer food products. It’s especially a concern for women, their fetuses, and children. I am a woman of child bearing age. I am very conscious of what I put in my body, and at home where I have complete control over food, I try to avoid food in contact with plastics. I’m not so rigid that I avoid restaurants (gotta live a little!), although I’d guess that the majority of the foods I eat from the restaurants I eat at don’t come from cans. Beans, tomatoes, and coconut milk are about all that I buy in cans. A couple of years ago, I got away from buying beans in cans, and now buy dried. This year, I’ve been working on avoiding tomatoes in cans. That leaves coconut milk, and I guess I’m not quite ready to make coconut milk from scratch the handful of times a year I use it. Also, all my old water bottles lined with BPA were replaced a few years ago since that’s what I drink from almost every day when I’m at work.
Taylor, you can get both tomatoes and coconut milk in aseptic containers. Pomi is a brand of tomatoes that comes in an aseptic box, they have used it for decades. And, Trader Joe's makes an organic coconut milk in an aseptic box.
Hope that helps!
Dawn - Thanks for the aseptic box reminder. I've seen tomatoes in aseptic boxes, but not coconut milk. I even buy coconut milk at Trader Joe's (the one in Delaware). I'll have to ask them for it next time I'm in there.
OMG Taylor!! I call gravy red sauce, I would have never thought to make it like this! I cannot wait to try it! Thank you so much for this beautiful inspiration!
The Trader Joe's in Marlton, NJ has the coconut milk in the aseptic box (boxed just like soy milk). If you feel like coming over the bridge, it isn't that far away, esp. if you are already going to Delaware! And there are TONS of awesome stores nearby in Marlton (a very nice Whole Foods, also, is on Rte. 70 on your way to 73 to get to TJs, and the "Promenade at Sagemore" is a fancy shopping center a bit further down 73, has an LLBean, etc.)
XOXO
Jen - Hope you like it. It's a little different than what people here call gravy (no tomatoes), but would make a good substitute.
Dawn - Duh, of course I've seen coconut milk in aseptic boxes; they're over with the rice, almond and soy milks. Those drinking coconut milks don't seem to be as thick and rich as the coconut milks in cans that I use for cooking, though. Thanks again, for all the suggestions.
I second the vote for Pomi tomatoes in aseptic boxes—they are great!
We use dried beans around here, but for those times when we haven't planned ahead and soaked beans we turn to Eden Foods's canned beans. This company developed a BPA-free can lining several years ago (well before BPA hit the headlines). The cans aren't cheap (just under $2 each), but we've found it useful to keep two or three on hand for emergencies. (And by "emergencies" I mean those "I need some hummus NOW moments.")
Marsha - My get-around for bean emergencies is to make a big batch of beans, and freeze smaller portions. Pop out a container when you need it!
In culinary school we made a sauce very similar to this-- we called it "No-Mato Sauce". Clever, right? Anyway, it was delicious, and great for people who are sensitive to nightshades. (Not to mention very seasonal!)
I had always wondered about freezing home made beans...do you freeze yours with any of the cooking liquid? I just made a ginormo batch of organic chickpeas!
XOXO
P.S. The aseptic coconut milk at Joe's is pretty darn thick, surprisingly! Try it! But you could always cook it down a little to thicken it even more if you wanted, or add some arrowroot :-) One does NOT have to go without coconut milk!!
Dawn - I always freeze my beans fully cooked and drained. It makes it easy to remove only part of the beans from a container if I don't need the whole container.
Thanks so much for the tip. I'm trying your bean freezing technique right now! Do you find any difference in the consistency once they are used from the freezer? Like are they better used for some recipes vs. others? Or are they fair game for anything you might use a bean for?
XOXO
P.S. We should really get lunch sometime. If you ever feel like coming over the bridge I'm only 12 minutes from your neighborhood :-)
Dawn - I haven't noticed any significant texture change in beans from freezing them, and eat them in warm, cooked dishes or straight in cold salads.
Yes, let's do lunch some time! Couldn't find any contact info on your blog, but hit me up at mac.and.cheese.review (at) gmail(dot) com
Hey guys, check THIS out! Trader Joe's says ALL THEIR CANNED TOMATO PRODUCTS (AND their canned corn, fruits, coconut milk, vegetables and other products!) ARE BPA FREE!! Yippee!!
http://www.inspirationgreen.com/bpa-lined-cans.html
Yeay!!
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