Homemade Marinara Sauce#SundayFunday

Homemade Marinara Sauce doesn’t get any easier than this recipe! This requires just a handful of ingredients and 20 minutes on the stove. This one is a keeper.

Mariana is a tomato-based sauce made with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs. It originated in Italy and is used in many dishes. Homemade marinara sauce that tastes better than any canned version.

Ingredients
1 Large Onion - finely chopped
5 Cloves Garlic
1 Teaspoon Chilly Flakes
½ Teaspoon Salt  or  to taste

1 Teaspoon Mixed Herbs
8 Medium Ripe Tomatoes - blanched & chopped
Few Leaves Fresh Basil
2 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Method

Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add diced onion and sauté until soft, then stir in garlic sauté for a minute or until fragrant.
Add blanched and chopped tomatoes, salt, and chilly flakes. Simmer partially covered for 15 minutes.  Cool and blend to a smooth sauce. Add in the mixed herbs and stir in chopped fresh basil. Homemade Marinara Sauce it ready.

This recipe is so versatile. Use it for any recipe that calls for Marinara Sauce. 

Labels: Homemade, Sauces, Italian, Sunday Funday, Tomato, Dried Herbs, Basil

Sunday Funday

Homemade Sauce

• Nasturtium Pesto by Cook with Renu
• Buffalo Chicken Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Homemade Marinara Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Carrot Greens Pesto by Food Lust People Love
• Rockfish with Cajun Butter Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Stir-Fried Squid in Black Bean Sauce by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Parsley Walnut Pesto by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pineapple BBQ Sauce by Amy's Cooking Adventures 

Homemade Mixed Berry Compote/Sauce

This is known by different names, berry sauce, berry coulis or berry topping, berry compote is essentially berries cooked down with a little sugar and lemon juice until thick and syrupy.
The berries will break down as you cook them, they won’t hold their shape. This makes it perfectly spoon able.

If you don’t like the seeds, you can easily push the compote through a sieve to separate them from the flesh and in so doing, you have a perfectly smooth berry sauce.

You can use the berry compote while still warm, at room temperature or when cold and there is nearly unlimited number of ways to use it.

This compote can’t be preserved for long periods as it doesn’t contain enough sugar. You’ll need to eat this within 6 - 7 days of making it or freeze it for up to 2 months. This compote is naturally vegan and gluten free too!

This is so quick to make, you can have this vibrant berry compote ready for topping your pancakes, cakes, ice cream and so much more. This thick berry sauce is so versatile and so easy to make.  

Makes ½ Cup
Ingredients
1 Big Cup Frozen Mixed Berries
2 Tablespoons Heaped Sugar or to your taste
A Juice of Half a Lime
½ Teaspoon Vanilla extract
Method

Place the berries, sugar or lemon juice into a medium saucepan over medium flame. As it heats stir until everything is mixed. 
Bring to a simmer and cook stirring every so often for around 10 to 12 minutes or until the juice has thickened. 

Mash the berries with a spoon to make a sauce. 

Stir in the vanilla then pour it into your preserving jar and let it cool to room temperature before lidding and storing in the fridge.  
Labels: Condiments, Sauces, International Cuisine, Mixed Berries, Healthy, Homemade

Homemade Ravioli - Stuffed with Spinach and Cottage Cheese in Roasted Tomato Sauce

Do you know that there is also a day for pasta? I too did not know and was quite surprised ! THE WORLD PASTA DAY – is celebrated on October 25.

I tasted Ravioli in a restaurant and loved it so much and decided that, must try this at home. I had written this recipe after watch a Television cookery show and then knew that it involves adding semolina for texture and firmness so that it can retain its shape. But rolling this pasta required a lot of energy, but still made it and everyone enjoyed it. Last year my beta's mother Reena gifted me a pasta machine for Christmas. After that everything changed, now I make my pasta at home, freshly made pasta is really different from the store brought one in taste, texture and most of all it has no oil or preservatives. Thank you Reena for this wonderful gift.

Whenever I, decide to make ravioli we always do it together because we make it in large quantities for two families and two meals. My beta and his sister will want to take it for tiffin. We really enjoying making it. So let's go to the recipe.

Sending this to Mir, who is hosting my Kid's Delight, themed on "Pizzas, Pastas n Noodles".

Ingredients
For the ravioli dough
1/2 cup semolina - the superfine variety
1/2 cup maida
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup hot water

For the filling
250 Grams Paneer - Freshly made
1 Big Bundle of Palak - blanched and chopped
1 Teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 Teaspoon Oregano
A pinch of salt

For the sauce
12 Tomatoes - large, firm and ripe
12 Flakes Garlic - finely chopped
1 Large Onion - finely chopped
2 Tablespoon Tomato Ketchup
1 Teaspoon Mixed Italian Herbs
1 Teaspoon Chilli flakes
1 Teaspoon Oregano
2 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley - finely chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
12 Basil Leaves

1/4 Cup Olive oil
Cheese - grated for serving
Method

In a small mixer jar add the 1/4 cup water and the semolina, mix well keep it aside for an hour or more. Then grind to fine paste.

Simply mix the two flours together and then begin to add warm water if required, mixing until you obtain a stiff dough. Once you obtain a workable dough, knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 to 15 minutes until the dough is very smooth and stiff. Wrap in plastic wrap and let is rest for 15 minutes.

In the meantime prepare the filling

Mix the filling ingredients and keep aside.

If you are using a pasta roller, take your flattened tennis ball-sized piece of dough (remember to keep the rest of your dough covered with the cling film so it doesn't go dry and crusty). Push it through the pasta roller on the widest setting. Fold it, then repeat 3 times. Once you have a rough square shape, start working it through the machine, taking it down one setting at a time, until the thinnest (or last but one) setting. If your pasta is too sticky, it won’t go through smoothly, so add a little flour to each side before you put it through the roller.

Place your sheet of pasta on a floured surface. Put a small portion of the filling in half of the ravioli rounds. Dip your finger in water and apply it to the edges of each ravioli.

 

Place the other half ravioli rounds over it and cut with a cookie cutter or a knife ( see pics). 

Pick it up and press lightly to ensure that it is sealed. Place it on a well floured surface. Allow them to dry out for at least 20 minutes. 

Boiling the ravioli
Place a large vessel of salted water on heat. Allow to boil. Lower the heat and slip in the prepared ravioli rounds in the water and cook for 3-4 minutes. They will sink immediately and start floating in a minute or two. Flip them over once if required. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and allow to drain, toss them with some olive oil so that they do not stick.

For the Sauce 

Wash and dry the tomatoes. Sprinkle the garlic flakes, along with it. Apply olive oil and roast in oven at 250 C until the skin starts tearing. Remove from oven and keep aside until cool. Peel off the skin then chop half and puree the other half. Fry a large onion minced well in olive oil, add the roasted chopped garlic cloves. Add salt, pepper powder, tomato ketchup, the herbs and let it simmer for 15 minutes. When the sauce it slightly thick then add the torn fresh basil leaves, chili flakes, oregano and fresh parsley stir. Switch off the flame.

Serving
Place the warm ravioli in the serving plate. Top with the warm sauce. add grated cheese on top and serve. Toss it in the sauce and relish. 

We had the ravioli for dinner one serving with cheese and one with little cheese. The verdict, my hubby and me like it without cheese because the creaminess of the filling was just yum.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#46.

Notes :

Do not overfill the ravioli. While sealing the ravioli, you need to ensure that there are no air bubbles in it. If there are air bubbles, the ravioli will float immediately while boiling and burst.

To ensure that you get it right, prepare a single ravioli round and slip into the water. Check .. it sinks and then floats.


Labels: Pasta & Noodles, Healthy, Blogging Marathon, Ravioli, Roasted Tomato, Sauces, International Cuisine