Foods Recipes

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup minced shallot

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil-packed -- finely chopped

2 tablespoons jalapeno peppers -- finely chopped

1/2 pound lasagna noodles -- broken into

bite-size pieces, or wide egg noodles 2 tablespoons fresh parsley -- minced

freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

In a heavy skillet cook the garlic and the shallot in the oil and the butter ov er moderately low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes, add the tomatoes, the jalape?os, a nd salt to taste, and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. To a kettle of boiling salted water add the lasagna gradually, stirring, and boil it , stirring, until it is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse it briefly under ho t water. Add the pasta and the parsley to the skillet and toss the mixture well. Serve t he pasta with the Parmesan.

8 ounces "bella" oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes -- undrained

1 cup onion -- chopped

1 cup celery -- chopped

1 cup carrot -- diced

3 cloves garlic -- minced

2 28 oz cans whole tomatoes -- undrained

2/3 cup chablis or other dry white wine

1 teaspoon dried fennel seed

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Drain dried tomatoes, reserving 1/4 cup oil. Chop tomatoes, and set aside. Heat reserved oil in a Dutch oven; saute onion, celery, carrot and garlic in hot oil 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in dried and canned tomatoes, wine, fennel seeds, and pepper; cook, uncovered, over medium heat 1 hour or to desired consistency, stirring mixture occasionally. Position knife blade in food processor bowl; add half of sauce mixture. Pulse 4 or 5 times or until mixture is chopped but not smooth. Repeat the same procedure with remaining half of sauce mixture. Serve over hot pasta.

2/3 c Sun-dried tomatoes

-- (oil-packed) Olive oil 3/4 c Packed stemmed fresh parsley

2/3 c Pitted black olives

1/2 c Pine nuts

2 ea Shallots, coarsely chopped

2 ea Garlic cloves

1 tb Red wine vinegar

Place strainer over 1-cup glass measuring cup. Pour tomatoes with their oil into strainer to drain. Add enough olive oil to glass cup to measure 1/4 cup oil total, if necessary. In processor, blend drained tomatoes, parsley, olives, pine nuts, shallots and garlic wtih vinegar until finely chopped. With machine running, gradually add 1/4 cup oil; process mixture until well blended. If pesto is dry, mix in more oil by spoonfuls. Season iwth salt and pepper. (Can be made ahead. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pesto. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.) ~---

1/2 lb Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Dry

(Not In Oil) 2 c Water

10 md Cloves Garlic, Peeled

1 1/2 ts Oregano, Dried

1 1/2 ts Thyme, Dried

1 1/4 c Olive Oil

1/4 c Vegetable Oil

MICROWAVE OVEN METHOD: Combine tomatoes, water, garlic, oregano and thyme in a 13x9x2-inch oval glass or ceramic dish. Cover tightly with microwave plastic wrap. Cook at 100% in a high-wattage oven for 8 minutes. Prick plastic to release steam. Remove from oven and uncover. Stir well. Re-cover and cook for 8 minutes longer. Prick plastic to release steam. Remove from oven and uncover. Stir well and allow to stand, stirring occasionally, until cool and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Transfer to a 1-1/2-quart souffle dish. Pour 3/4 cup of the olive oil and the vegetable oil over the tomato mixture. Cover tightly with microwave plastic wrap and cook for 5 minutes. Prick plastic to release steam. Remove from oven and uncover. Stir and allow to stand until cool. Transfer to the work bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Scrape into a large bowl and stir in remaining olive oil if serving immediately. Otherwise, pack in a refrigerator storage container with a tightly fitting lid. The dip will keep as long as a month, so think about making the whole quantity. STOVE-TOP METHOD: Cover sun-dried tomatoes with water in nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over med heat, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 22 minutes. Allow to cool. Drain. Cook with oil, garlic, oregano and thyme over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes. Puree. Above makes 3 cups. Author's note: The sun-dried tomato dip is a real breakthrough. At a recent cocktail party, 7 guests demanded the recipe. Buying sun-dried tomatoes dry in bulk instead of packed in oil makes them less expensive. Reviving them in the microwave means that you can use a minimum of liquid for optimum intensity of flavor. Then they be packed up in good quality olive oil (much better than that which comes with them in jars) to use as needed or to turn into this dip, with its rich, mystifying flavor. The dip keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. You will want to have the ubiquitous sliced raw vegetables; fennel does well with this dip. You don't have to use a microwave oven; you can still make this dip even if it is slightly less intense in flavor. The reward is the cooking water. Save it to use for boiling pasta. Cooked either way, this dip makes a delicious pasta sauce. Below are timings for other amounts of sun-dried tomatoes so that you can multiply and divide the recipe as you want. Almost every informal party requires at least one dip. Allow 1/4 cup per guest. At bigger parties, I often supply two or three, spacing them around the room(s) with dippers at each location. MICROWAVE OVEN METHOD: FOR 1/4 POUND DRIED TOMATOES: With 1 cup water in a 2-1/2 quart souffle dish, cook, covered, at 100% in a high-wattage oven 5 minutes; prick plastic to release steam; stir; cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. In a low-wattage oven, cook 9 minutes and 9 minutes. FOR 1/2 POUND DRIED TOMATOES: With 2 cups water in a 13x9x2-inch oval glass or ceramic dish, cook in a high-wattage oven 8 minutes, then 8 minutes. In a low-wattage oven, cook 12 minutes and 14 minutes. FOR 1 POUND DRIED TOMATOES: With 4 cups water in a 5-quart casserole, cook in a high-wattage oven 14 minutes, then 14 minutes. In a low-wattage oven, cook 20 minutes and 20 minutes. STOVE-TOP METHOD: Cover sun-dried tomatoes with water in a nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 22 minutes. Allow to cool. Drain. Recipe from "Party Food" by Barbara Kafka. Source: Party Food by Barbara Kafka

1 lb Thin spaghetti

1 Bay leaf

1 tb Salt

4 tb Olive oil

1 Garlic clove -- pressed

4 lg Tomatoes -- peeled and seeded

-- divided 1 tb White wine vinegar

1 tb Fresh basil -- minced

1 tb Fresh oregano -- minced

1 tb Fresh thyme -- minced

1 tb Nasturtium blossoms -- minced

1/4 ts Saffron threads

1 sm Red onion -- divided

1 md Cucumber -- peeled and seeded

-- divided 1 sm Sweet red pepper -- divided

1 tb Dry sherry

Salt -- to taste -----GARNISH----- 12 Chive leaves

Chive blossoms 4 Nasturtium blossoms

Cook spaghetti in boiling water with bay leaf and salt until just tender. Drain well, discard bay leaf, mix with oil and garlic, and chill. Mince half the cucumber, onion and pepper; reserve. Mince one of the tomatoes and reserve. Place rest of tomatoes in blender or food processor with vinegar, basil, oregano, thyme, minced nasturtium blossoms and saffron; puree. Add rest of cucumber, onion and pepper, and pulse several times to chop coarsely. Stir in sherry and add salt to taste. Mix sauce with spaghetti. Divide in four bowls and sprinkle each serving with minced tomato, cucumber, onion and pepper. Garnish each serving with 3 chive leaves, several chive blossoms and a nasturtium blossom. Recipe from Helen D. Conwell of Fairhope, AL in "Great Spaghetti Sauce Cookoff" in "The Herb Companion." Dec. 1992/Jan. 1993, Vol. 5, No. 2. Pg. 80. Posted by Cathy Harned.