Succulent Tomato Sauce

So you buy a bunch of fresh basil and it is great for your curry or laksa. And then what do you do with the rest of the leaves that going bad, withering in seconds? 

One of my many flatmates in this life, taught me this italian tomato sauce recipe. Easy and tasty. I made it the other day and I just could not stop licking the spoon. I figured I'd write it down here so that I can recreate it.

INGREDIENTS

-1 can of peeled tomatoes (400 grams) 

-a little oil.

-3 garlic cloves smashed.

-3 sticks of fresh rosemary.

-a bunch of basil leaves.

-any random tomatoes you have in your fridge.

-1 tsp of salt.

-1 tsp of sugar.

STEPS:

1. Pour tomatoes in saucepan, a little water, a little oil and smash tomatoes a bit.

2. Now add garlic cloves that you have smashed a bit, the rosemary sticks, the sugar and the salt, and now let it all simmer for over an hour, stirring slowly. An amazing sauce begins to appear....you can let it simmer for 2 hours altogether. 

3. At the end of this time, I add the basil, not before otherwise it kills the flavour.

4. When it is done I pick up the rosemary stems and throw them out and the same with the garlic. 

5. I completed this sauce with grated carrots, red onions and 400 grams of true mince and of course spaghetti.

That's it. Such a wonderful wonderful sauce. 

Plum Clafoutis

This recipe is fantastic, especially for Spring. A yummy dessert that is just not hard to make. I had been meaning to do it for many many years but always felt I wasn't prepared because it called for "semolina" which I had no idea what that was. But here is a recipe 

with normal ingredients. Thanks to Courtney Adamo.   

INGREDIENTS:

-400 ml of heavy cream (1+1/2 cups) 

-150 grams granulated sugar (even 140 grams, 

the original recipe calls for 175 grams, too much I think)

-3 eggs.

-2 tsp vanilla.

-the orange zest of 1 orange.

-1/4 tsp salt.

-1/2 cup flour.

-3 big plums cut in slices (or figs, or peaches, or cherries).

STEPS:

1. Combine cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange zest and salt in a blender. 

2. Add flour in 3 batches, mixing slowly with hand blender.

3. Let the mix rest for 30 minutes.

4. Turn oven on to 220 degrees and prepare the fruit in pieces. 

5. Butter your dish, you have to for this recipe, I always use kitchen paper, but you cannot with this recipe. And then sprinkle the bottom with sugar, so that it caramelizes a bit.

6. Get your dish and pour the mix and now add the fruit, slowly in a pretty manner.

7. Sprinkle a little more sugar on top.

8. Place in oven in 220 degrees for 2o minutes. Then lower to 180 for 20 more, and then turn the girll on at the end to give it a tanning session. You'll know when it's ready.

Great recipe. Obviously has a ton of cream and sugar so you'll have to plan your next run and work out soon after, but it's worth it. A few pics of Byron Bay where Courtney Adamo lives.