When I grow up, I want to marry Annabel Langbein. I have a major girl-crush on the poor woman! After hinting numerous times to my husband that I wanted her new book, The Free Range Cook for Christmas, (if you can call saying to said husband, "oh you can get me this book for Christmas", hinting...) I gave up (husband is seriously bad at picking up hints) and just asked my Mum. Luckily Mum came through with the goods, and we have been feasting on Annabel's delights for the last few months. One of the best things about Annabel's books, including this one, are the variations and different ideas she gives after most recipes and how all of the parts of the book tie in together.
I have been dying for our tomatoes to ripen en-masse so that I can finally make the recipe for Harvest Tomato Sauce (recipe below) that I saw on The Free Range Cook tv show last year, and finally it has happened (actually the husband stole the first 3kgs to make tomato soup, but now it's my turn)!
So I made the tomato sauce yesterday and got stuck into it today - it really is simply delicious! I was very tempted to add more chilli to spice things up a bit but managed to rein myself in and I'm pleased I did, as the flavour of this sauce is so nicely balanced, it doesn't need to be played around with.
Tonight I used some of the sauce as a base for my crusted fish recipe and it was magic (if I do say so myself)! First, I spread about 0.5cm in the base of a baking dish, then lay the cod on top. I just want enough sauce to flavour the fish and keep it moist, I don't want the fish to stew in it. I lightly seasoned the cod but it didn't need much as I'm very spoilt when it comes to fresh seafood. Then I sprinkled over a few little basil leaves (just because it looks pretty!):
Next I gently pressed a herb crust (recipe below) on top, sprinkled a little extra Parmesan cheese on top and popped it into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes... which would have been perfect, had I not decided to grill the top a little bit extra to brown it up. I am notorious for burning things under the grill and really should know better than to be playing around with that thing!
Anyway, although slightly crispy on top (read 'burnt'), the fish was perfectly cooked and this was a such a yummy dinner that we ate nearly all of it (yes, there is enough fish there to feed four people)!
Annabel Langbein's Harvest Tomato Sauce
1.5kg tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges (I used a combination of beefsteak, roma and cherry)
2 red capsicums, deseeded and cut into eighths
1 large onion, cut into thin wedges (I also added half a red onion that was wasting away in my fridge)
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 T chopped rosemary leaves (I have just noticed the recipe actually called for a 't', oh well a 'T' worked for me!)
1 small chilli, seeded and chopped (optional, but I'd recommend it!)
1/4 c tomato paste
2 T sugar
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t salt
ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Prepare the tomatoes, capsicums and onion and place them in a large roasting dish lined with baking paper. They need to be in a single layer so they roast and caramelise rather than stew, so use two roasting dishes if necessary (I did).
Add the garlic, rosemary and chilli. In a small bowl mix together the tomato paste, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon this mixture over the vegetables and stir through them to coat evenly.
Bake for 2 hours or until the vegetables are starting to caramelise and shrivel a little.
Allow the vegetables to cool then puree in a food processor or blender. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to a week or can be frozen. Alternatively, bring the pureed sauce to a boil and while it is very hot, pour into sterilised jars. Cover then seal.
Herb Crust
3 slices brown bread
2 handfuls of fresh herbs, I used basil, rosemary, flat-leaf parsley and thyme
large handful grated Parmigiano Reggiano
olive oil
salt & pepper
Using a blender or food processor, process bread to crumbs. Place in a bowl and add the chopped herbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Mix in a bit of olive oil at a time till the crumbs are coated but not sodden, and will hold together when lightly pressed.
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