It's Delish! Tomato Polenta Lasagna

It is a little early in the tomato season for this recipe, but I just made it the other day and I couldn't resist sharing. If you have a bunch of tomatoes and 3 hours of time, then this is the best recipe ever! Yes, you read that right. It takes 3 hours to cook the fresh tomatoes down, but it is worth every second because at the end you will have the most beautiful, savory, flavorful tomato sauce you have ever tasted! Let's begin:

Begin by cutting about 3 pounds of tomatoes in half and then getting rid of the stem area. This area of the tomato can be kind of tough and woody, and one time I didn't bother to cut it out and there were gross chunks in my otherwise delish sauce.

Put all the cut tomatoes into a dutch oven or other heavy pot and set on a medium flame.

To the tomatoes add 2-4 anise pods and one vanilla bean. Yes, you read that right- a vanilla bean! Because they are so expensive, I usually use half a bean.

Continue to cook over a medium heat.

As the tomatoes begin to break down, use a potato smasher to gently smoosh (very technical term) the tomatoes to speed up the process.

This is what it should look like after about 15 minutes. At this point turn the flame down to medium-low and continue to cook.

I would stir the pot every 20 minutes or so. Also, taste the tomatoes as they cook so you can see how the flavors change over time. This should cook for at least two hours on a low flame.

This is what it should look like after a few hours. There should be almost no liquid left, just the slowly cooked pulp.

At this point you can throw in a few garlic gloves. I chop the large ones in half, but don't chop them too small because you should take them out after about 5-10 minutes along with the vanilla pod and anise pods.

Once you have removed the garlic, vanilla, and anise, you can add a handful of torn fresh basil and some chopped fresh oregano or marjoram. Taste and season with salt.

At this point your sauce is finished and you can do whatever you like with it. You can spread it over bruschetta toast, or spoon it over pasta. But I like to layer it with soft polenta and fresh mozzarella to make the lasagna. Here is how that is done:

About an hour before the sauce is done, I bring 1 cup of polenta and 4 cups of water with a pinch of salt to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer.

Cook the polenta over a low flame and occasionally stir. If it feels like it is getting too goopy (another technical term), just add some more water. I had to add at least 1 more cup of water as I cooked the polenta for an hour.

Now I know an hour sounds like a long time for polenta, especially when the box says it can be cooked in 5-10 minutes. And you can do the quick version if you want. But because you already have to wait an hour for the tomato sauce to cook, you might as well cook your polenta this way. It gives the polenta an extra creamy-smoothness you wont get the quick way.

At the end of the hour throw in a good handful (or two) of freshly grated parmesan cheese and turn off the flame.

For this recipe I like to add some wild arugula to the polenta to help cut the sweetness of the sauce. I just add it directly to the pot after the heat has been turned off and stir until the arugula has wilted down.

Now you can begin to make your lasagna. I start with 1/3 of the polenta and smooth it on the bottom of a pie pan.

Then add 1/2 of the tomato sauce.

Next I add the fresh mozzarella. To be totally honest, I think the fresh mozzarella tastes wonderful, but the liquid in the fresh mozzarella can make the dish a little softer than I would like. Next time I am going to try shredded mozzarella and see how that turns out.

Then add a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Continue by adding another 1/3 of the polenta, the other half of tomato sauce, more mozzarella, and another handful of parmesan. Top the whole thing off with the last of the polenta and then sprinkle with the last of the parmesan.

Bake in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes until the top is brown. Let it sit for 10 minutes and then cut and serve. I forgot to take a picture of the final product, but it looked just like the above photo, only browner.

This serves 6 adults and is a perfect main course for a vegetarian meal.

It's Delish! Quinoa Salad

My friend Chana Malka made up this salad the other day and I have been obsessing about it ever since. It is delicious- full of fresh flavor, interesting textures, and bit of tang. She started with an Israeli salad and then added quinoa. It may sound simple, but the flavors are perfection. You must try it!

Start with 1/2 cup quinoa. This will make a salad for 2 people. (This is the easiest recipe to double, triple, etc.)

Quinoa MUST be rinsed because it contains a bitter substance around each seed. I don't have a fine colander, so I just pour the quinoa directly into the pot I am going to cook the quinoa in.

Then I pour water in the pot...

use my hand to swish the seed around....

and then drain the water out of the pot. If the seeds are trying to float away with the water, I just use my other hand to catch them and return them to the pot.

Then I add 1 cup of water to the pot and cook on high until it comes to a boil.

Ah, there it is. The water is at a boil, so I lower the flame, put on a lid, and let it cook for 15 minutes until the water has been absorbed.

While the quinoa is cooking, you can chop the vegetables. Start with two scallions. Slice off the roots.

Next, slice the scallions in half length-wise.

Then dice the scallions into small pieces.

Next, the cucumbers. I used two small Persian cucumbers, but you can always use half of one regular cucumber. I just slice off the ends:

Then I cut the cucumber into eighths.

Then chop the cucumber into a small dice.

On to the tomato:

First, take out the woody area where the stem was.

There you go!

Then cut the tomato horizontally and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

Perfection!

Then cut the tomato into small slices...

and dice!

Now you should have a bowl that is essentially an Israeli salad! If you add some lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper,  you could serve it up as a nice side dish. But the quinoa really takes it to the next level. So let us continue.

By now, the quinoa should be done.

I like to cool the quinoa on a tin foil lined cookie sheet. This keeps the quinoa from overcooking.

Now it is time to get the lemon juice. I always start with half a lemon and then taste the salad to see if I need more.

Add the quinoa to the vegetables, add the lemon juice, a pinch of salt, a crackle of pepper, and 2 Tbsp of olive oil.

And voila! An amazing salad. This tastes best if you let it sit for at least 30 minutes. It will also keep for at least 3 days in the fridge.

Now, you could stop there and have a wonderful side dish, or...

you could add some chickpeas and feta and call it lunch! I had mine with a bowl of tomato soup and it was amazing! The chickpeas add some protein and heft, and the feta gives it a creamy, tangy bite.

Some other additions could be:

minced fresh mint

minced fresh oregano

red onion instead of scallions

switch the garbanzo beans for black beans and add fresh cilantro

crumbled goat cheese instead of feta

red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice

cherry tomatoes instead of a Roma tomato

diced red, yellow, or orange pepper

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam.

Look, I love vintage as much as the next girl, but when it comes to cuisine, I am very glad I live in 2010. I find the food from the 50s to be the most unappetizing bunch of glop ever. Their penchant for chopped meat, condensed mushroom soup, and gelatin is so unappetizing to me. But the photos, the photos, are the best.

Just look at that Sunday dinner. I love how the fruit is arranged just so, and the meat dish has the perfectly placed parsley. Hilarious.

Compare it to a modern photo of more or less the same thing:

No parsley, nothing is perfectly placed. But doesn't it look so much more appetizing?

The other thing I find awesome about the food of the 50's are the crazy recipes.

Yes, that is a recipe for a JELLY OMELET! That is seriously the grossest thing ever.

Oh, nope. Sorry. TUNA PIZZA ON BISCUTS is the grossest. thing. ever.

Then of course you have your Spam.

I have never eaten Spam before, but I will admit, I have a recipe memorized and I have always wanted to try it. First you butterfly a loaf of spam. Then you put pineapple slices in the cuts of the Spam. Finally you pour ketchup over the entire thing and bake it at 350 for 25 minutes. Sounds totally disgusting and yet strangely intriguing.

Of course you have to have dessert. Most of the cakes and pies I saw look pretty much exactly the same as the cakes and pies of today. Oh, but add some gelatin to fruit and voila! Dessert!

Can you even imagine going to someones house and having them serve you jello with canned halved pears? Can you even buy canned halved pears anymore?

If you are still interested in funny vintage food, I highly recommend this website. The food is from the 70s, but it is still good for a chuckle or two.