Chef Andrew Zimmern offers tips for making tomato-based sauces and dips.
- To mellow the flavor of tomato or marinara sauce, add a finely chopped carrot at the outset.
- Never add Parmesan to pasta that is served with a fish or shellfish sauce.
- If a pasta sauce is very thick, thin it with a little of the hot cooking water from the pasta before tossing. You'll find that it distributes much more evenly.
- If the tomatoes you're using in a sauce need to cook very briefly, peel them raw with a vegetable peeler instead of blanching so that they maintain their firmness. Tomatoes that have been peeled in this manner are also sweeter in a salad.
- Cook the seashells with a seafood sauce to give the sauce extra flavor and color. Be sure to remove the shells before serving.
- Sun-dried tomatoes sauteed in a little olive oil and cooked until thoroughly warm can be mixed with a number of ingredients for a quick-and-easy dip. Mix with cream cheese, goat cheese, pepper, garlic or your own creative addition.
- There are many options from which to choose for no-cook sauces. Some examples are tomatoes, capers, smoked salmon, fresh basil or dill, olive oil, etc. For best results, these no-cook ingredients should be at room temperature when mixed with warm pasta.
Guests Andrew Zimmern
Professional Chef and Culinary Expert, Food Works Inc.
1116 Raymond Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: 651-335-7456
E-mail:
chefaz@visi.com
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