jeudi, mai 11, 2006

egg fettucine with tuco

Leo and I made fresh pasta last Friday night. We used the kitchen aid pasta maker attachment that D and Ophy gave me for Christmas. (Thanks, ladies!)

While I was busy cutting the noodles, Leo made an amazing tuco, a traditional Uruguayan / Argentine tomato sauce, the name for which is derived from the Italian word for sauce, sugo.

Tuco Casero
1 kg. de tomate perita (roma tomato)
1 cebolla chica
1 diente de ajo
1/2 morrón rojo
1/2 morrón verde
aceite (cualquiera)
sal
pimienta
orégano
pimenton (paprika)
laurel

Poner a calentar el aceite a fuego lento. Picar la cebolla bien chiquita (o a gusto), lo mismo que el ajo (esaconsejable picarlo bien chiquito para que se disuelva en la salsa) poner a saltearlos en un sartén grande o cacerola. Primero la cebolla y cuando casi esté lista echarle el ajo para que no se queme. Echar los morrones junto a la cebolla y al ajo. Cuando esténrehogados, poner los tomates bien picados, salpimentar y poner el orégano, el pimenton y el laurel (a gusto) y dejar que rebaje. Una vez rebajado se le puede agregar agua de a poco y dejar estacionar unpar de horas para concentrar mejor los sabores.

Other Uruguyan recipe resources:
http://www.kike.c.telefonica.net/endosan/uruguay.htm#El%20mate
http://www.reduruguaya.com/recetas/
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/recipesfromuruguay/

3 commentaires:

Unknown a dit…

What about the rest of us who are Spanish retarded? I want to eat that! Joder!

Anonyme a dit…

for christ's sake.

chop the onion however you like it best. throw it in some hot oil. when it starts to soften, add some chopped green and red pepper. when the onion starts to brown, add garlic, pressed or minced. as soon as it hits the pan, you will think "damn that smells like heaven." then you will have a little private moment. when you come out of that, it will be time to add a little salt, a little pepper, a bay leaf, some paprika, and oregano to taste (if you're not cooking for the heat-challenged, some red pepper flakes really hit the spot too). stir it around, let it cook together a minute. throw in your diced tomatoes. if you're a wuss like my dad add a little bit of sugar to cut the acidity in the tomatoes. if you're a real man, ignore the sugar and flirt with acid reflux. go ahead! you only live once.

anyway, now it's time to let the sauce simmer for a while. when it looks like it's come together nicely, it's time to take it off the fire and serve over the pasta.

1. if at all possible, make the sauce the day before so the flavor comes together in the fridge overnight.

2. as far as exact quantities and actual cooking times, have fun experimenting! if you're new to cooking and having difficulties, just look at the recipe. the inly real key is to make sure the garlic doens't burn, which it will do fairly quickly. put it in, 30 seconds, add the other stuff, another minute at most, throw the tomatoes in.

3. cooking temps: i tend to keep my heat at medium-high until it's time to simmer. by the way, i simmer uncovered so i can look at it and smell it and pet it and love it and call it george. you can cover if you want.

4. the wooden spoon is your friend. stir periodically throughout the entire procedure. play with your food. if it plays back, have a serious conversation with your grocer. be sure to use the words "gross neglicence," "attorney," and "class action."

enjoy!

leo

Unknown a dit…

Gracias senor. This definitely beats going to Chevy's for Fresh Mex. Wait, what? Uruguayans aren't Mexican? Says who?