Basic Tomato Sauce
Use this sauce as a base for soups, stews and
pasta
s
3 kilos (about 6-7 pounds) very ripe tomatoes
1 kilo onions (2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato concentrate
bunch parsley or cilantro/coriander
salt, pepper, sweet paprika
optional: garlic, chili powder or flakes
Fry the thinly sliced onions in the olive oil till transparent.
Process the washed tomatoes and parsley/cilantro in a food processor. The texture
is up to your taste.
Cook the processed tomatoes, tomato concentrate and the
onions for twenty minutes. Add crushed garlic (if you enjoy the taste)
towards the end of the cooking period. Season with salt and pepper.
Recently there has been a lot of positive noise about curcumin. I buy turmeric
in root form and crush it myself. I add the powder to the sauce. Turmeric can
be bought in powder form.
I have kept the sauce in a container for up to three weeks under refrigeration.
Pasta and vegetables
basic tomato sauce
1 cup frozen vegetables of your choice.
pasta
Boil the frozen vegetables in the tomato sauce for 5 minutes. Add whatever
spices you enjoy. Pour the mixture over the heated pasta and enjoy a healthy
filling meal.
Vegetable Lasagna
basic tomato sauce
frozen vegetables
lasagna leaves
1 tablespoon Oregano
oil the oven proof-cooking dish with olive oil
Mix equal quantities of the sauce and vegetables. Add the oregano to the
mixture with pepper and garlic according to your taste. Be adventurous.
Pour enough sauce into the dish so that the bottom is cover by a thin layer.
Place lasagna leaves in the sauce in the dish
Over the leaves pour the sauce/vegetable mixture, add another layer of
leaves and carry on till the dish is filled. If you eat cheese you
can grate some over the top of the mixture.
Bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes.
Broccoli
Broccoli is rated as a must. Eat it raw, in a salad, as
a hot vegetable, an addition to stews and casseroles. The recipe below can
be served hot or cold.
Broccoli & Mushroom Salad
broccoli flowerets
cup fresh mushrooms
2 medium sized carrots cut into short sticks
cup sun dried tomatoes finely cut up
1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
crushed garlic
Boil or steam the broccoli in salted water for 5 minutes. Salt is not
necessary if you prefer to cook without salt.
Sweat the onions, sun dried tomatoes and garlic with a teaspoon of olive
oil in a hot Teflon (non-stick) pan. One minute is enough. This to
release the taste of the lycopene packed sun dried tomatoes.
Assemble the salad; add the contents of the pan.
The dressing I use is one-third balsamic vinegar and two-thirds olive
oil. Salt and pepper to your taste.
Pour the dressing over the salad shortly before eating. To serve
this dish hot one can either heat it with the dressing in a microwave
or briefly stir-fry in the dressing. This dish can be kept for a
couple of days
Bean Soup
In Israel turkey is a meat readily available and turkey necks are sold
separately. I often use turkey necks in soup. The necks are
very cheap and have a minimum of fat. This soup can be made without turkey
necks by playing around with the flavoring.
1 turkey neck
1 cup broad white beans that have been soaked over night
1 large celery root, scrubbed clean of sand
A few bay leaves
2 diced onions
1 tsp. cumin
3 table spoons tomato concentrate
Place all the ingredients in a pot with 4 liters of water and bring to
the boil. Simmer until the beans are soft. Flavor with salt, pepper,
chili, garlic or whatever takes your fancy. This soup freezes well.
Cooked Bean Salad
1 cup broad white beans
One half-cup soy beans
Basic tomato sauce
2 thinly sliced medium onion
tablespoon olive oil
chopped parsley
By soaking the beans over night you can save on the cooking time. Boil them
till the white beans are soft. Strain the beans. The soybean will remain
crunchy.
Fry the thinly sliced onions till transparent, add the beans and
enough basic sauce to cover them. Bring to the boil and cook for a two
minutes. Add the parsley.
This mixture can be served either hot or cold. I have kept it in a sealed
container for more than a week under refrigeration. Once again play
around with your favorite spice or herbs.
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Seven
years ago after being diagnosed with prostate cancer I opted for Watchful
Waiting, changed my eating habits and started looking for ways of cooking
healthy food. One of the first changes I made to my diet besides cutting
out most animal products was using cereals, brown rice and pasta. In
Israel high quality tomatoes are cheap. I concocted a basic tomato
sauce, which I used almost daily. In those days lycopene was not being
pushed as an anti-oxidant. Today, it is.