Tomato, tomahto

Two of my favorite tomato recipes lately. Since they each have almost a stick of butter in them I guess you couldn't exactly call them "healthy" but otherwise they pass muster. And they are certainly simple and inexpensive.

I have been using canned tomatoes like crazy lately. I finally realized how disgusting store-bought tomatoes were, and since I have never had enough sun to grow my own, canned is the way I've had to go.

1) Sauce

Have you seen this floating around the blogosphere? It is everywhere. Bonny directed me to it on another blog and then all of a sudden I kept seeing it pop up at random places. So easy. Maybe a little boring but it's sweet and light and just buttery enough for me.

Serves 4

28 oz whole peeled tomatoes from a can
5 T unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste, and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Of course any pasta is good with this sauce; we like cheese tortellini or ravioli (Costcooooo) for the added "oomph" of protein, plus they are easy for kids to eat. I love long pasta personally but my kids struggle with it. They can do it but it makes a huge mess. So while I give them long pasta for practice now and then, generally I stick with penne, orecchiette, rotini, whatever is easy to stab with a fork.

To me the hierarchy of deliciously cooked vegetables goes: grilled > roasted > steamed. Since I don't have a grill I roast a lot. To roast broccoli, put it in a pan with a little olive oil (maybe add garlic) and roast at 400 until it looks good to you. To roast zucchini, put it in a pan with olive oil, garlic, chili powder, and Parmesan, and roast at 400 until it looks good to you. When roasting veggies, stir frequently.

Serve with artisan bread.

2) Soup

Got this Martha Stewart recipe from Hannah and Robbie; similar ingredients to the sauce and just as buttery and light. So easy, and also inexpensive. If you ignore the butter, very healthy. And deeeeelectable.

Makes 6 cups

6 T unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
24 oz canned whole plum tomatoes
3 C homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions have softened, about 15 minutes. (Eliza's note: I always caramelize onions almost to the point of overcooking to make sure they are sweet enough)

Add tomatoes, chicken stock, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until tomatoes, onions, and garlic are soft, 10 to 20 minutes.

Working in batches, transfer soup to the jar of a blender and puree until smooth (or use an immersion blender). Return to saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until soup is heated through. If soup seems too thick, stir in some extra stock to thin. Serve immediately.

Also serve this with artisan bread. To me soup seems to need salad rather than cooked vegetables on the side. So throw a salad on your plate while you're at it.

I love these meals. I don't know what captivates me about the tomato sauce so much, maybe that it is so fresh and so easy and feels less like cheating than opening a can of Classico. It is a little bit acidic. The butter helps with that though. The longer you let it simmer, the better it tastes. If you are going to be home in the afternoon, I recommend starting it earlier and reheating it for dinner time if you need to go anywhere, to help with the acidity.

Enjoy, my tomato-loving friends. (non-tomato-lovers: I'm sorry.)