Coulis de tomates d'ete/Summer Tomato Sauce

Friday, September 25, 2009

Well, it didn't take me long to decide to make this into a real blog. Look out, twenty first century, here I come! My fear about creating a blog was that noone would read it. At least when I email my friends they oblige me with taking a glance at my scribbles. However, I received some interesting comments to my first entry (emailed) which leaves me wanting to have others' comments available to all. So here goes. My only request is that this blogger remain anonymous in your comments. Thanks.

Here's my first entry from last Sunday:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

Okay, this is a bald-faced rip off of Julie & Julia. I decided that I would do my own bloggy-type thing using the cookbook that I purchased when I attended fabulous cooking classes with Lydie Marshall in Nyons, France. Though I’ve tried some of the recipes in the book, I have decided that I will go through it systematically. The recipe book is: A Passion for My Provence by Lydie Marshall. I intend to cook on Sundays whenever possible.

My first dilemma is: do I go through the book in order, one recipe after another? If so, I’ll be spending several months on appetizers, then main courses, finally desserts. Do I really want to do that? I’m thinking now that I may skip around a bit so that seasonal recipes conform to the season and that there will be a variation of courses. I’ve also decided that, rather than worry about a whole menu for a meal, I will simply make the recipe at hand and let the chips fall where they may about the accompaniments. Maybe we’ll just have a tart for Sunday dinner sometimes. Worse things have happened!

So today’s project: Coulis de tomates d’ete. Summer Tomato Sauce. I figure since local, ripe tomatoes are in abundance this would be a good start. Yesterday I went to the Farmer’s Market and got 5 lbs. of tomatoes and some onions. I will use garlic from Rachel’s garden and basil from my own. I must admit to some skepticism about whether this will be any different from the many tomato sauce recipes I’ve tried – I have some good ones.

Later on Sunday…so, the sauce got made. It took about two hours. Even though the cooking time is pretty short – 35 minutes - it took a while to chop and seed 13 tomatoes. When I first read the recipe, it appeared quite plain – tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil – but the results were surprisingly flavorful. It tasted “very Fweeench” – subtle but rich flavor. The trick, I think, is in the directions to cook it on high heat. It really reduces the liquid leaving the strong essence of tomato. I was comparing it in my mind to other tomato sauces I have known…it has none of the kick of oregano of Italian sauces (which now seem so vulgar) nor the punch of garlic that is in a raw tomato sauce I like.

It was a hit with Andy. I served it over linguini with a splatter of fresh parmesan. Since I wasn’t going to worry about side dishes I put together a watermelon and cucumber salad – ingredients I had at home. Maybe not the best compliment but it worked.

The sauce is referenced in other recipes in Lydie’s book – one with veal and one with rabbit. (Sob, will I really be able to cook a rabbit?? But I’m inspired by Julie who had to kill a lobster. Anything for the cause!) I froze the leftover sauce for future use. Tune in later.

(I’ll be happy to send you any recipes you’re interested in.)