By David Harbilas

This is a dish that my father used to make frequently when I was young, but I was so fussy about seafood that he often made it only with a flaky white fish rather than the mixture of mussels, clams, and other shellfish that it calls for.

It is an old recipe, popular during the ‘80’s, and the technique is very simple.

The flavors are unforgettable, similar to a fra diavolo.

In fact, it probably is nearly the same as its more popular cousin, yet as with most Italian food the recipes vary from region to region, town to town, and often house to house. Its name comes from a neighborhood in Naples, so it might not actually be a “regional” dish as we tend to think of them.

Serves 4

3 cans of plum tomatoes
¼ cup basil leaves
4 cloves of garlic, sliced Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

It is amazing to me how the history of things we take for granted seem to always surprise us.

A case in point is the history of the simple marinara sauce and its trip around the world.

Tomatoes were brought to the Americas on board ships that had ported in Europe.

The acidic nature of this fruit made it perfect for travel and many sailors enjoyed its sweet nature through their travel across the seas. It was so common that this type of tomato sauce was referred to as “sailor style” during the mid-16 century around Naples, Italy.

Unlike today’s world market, sailors were limited to what was on their ships. Basic sauces were made with tomatoes, onions, garlic and available spices. It has been said that this sauce looked and tasted like an American spaghetti sauce.

Today, there are several different recipes for a marinara sauce. They all generally contain Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

When I was about 25 I was living in a small house in southern New Hampshire with four other people.

I was pretty broke at the time and just starting out as a line cook while pursuing my first masters degree in English.

I was scouring a cookbook one day for a unique recipe and came across this one from the original Craig Claiborne New York Times Cookbook, which I think is now out of print. (Claiborne did about as much for modernizing cooking in America as anyone, including Julia Child.)

Like many recipes of the time, it doesn’t take a lot of fancy ingredients or methods to create. But it did foreshadow the use of acid (vinegars and citrus) in a lot of braises that would become popular in Italian food in the ‘90’s (and which still remain largely unknown). Nonetheless, this is worth making, especially as it perfumes your kitchen for a long time afterward.

Serves 4

1 chicken cut into 8 stewing pieces
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

As with the other Turkish tomato paste recipes I’ve been featuring lately this one relies on an austere list of vegetables and long cooking method for its effects.

And as with the other recipes, it benefits from some slight modifications, the greatest of which is the use of stock in place of water.

While most of the world’s great recipes arose out of the need to eat something different while still being limited by poverty, this braise, like many, does not need to be bland, as there are many broth alternatives available, be they bouillon cubes, prepared broths, or frozen homemade stocks.

The use of tomato paste, however, nearly does away with the importance of such stocks, since it not only has a lot of flavor on its own but it seems to enhance the flavors of other ingredients in long-cooked methods like this.

Serves 6-8

2 cans chickpeas
1 can tomato paste
1 pound beef stewing meat Read the rest of this entry »

By David Harbilas

This recipe is based on methods from the last two restaurants where I was chef, Aka Bistro in Lincoln, Massachusetts and Mavi Bistro in Hudson, New Hampshire.

It features a simple chickpea puree (hummus) and tomato confit.

As an alternative, marinated tomatoes can be used instead of roasted tomatoes, as a short-cut.

But it’s worth it to take the time to roast the tomatoes, since they provide a sort of meaty texture and flavor that pairs well with the chickpeas.

Makes 4 tarts

• 1 sheet of puff pastry, cut into four four inch squares
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 small can of cooked chickpeas Read the rest of this entry »

By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

As an avid tomato gardener and one that loves to fiddle in the garden year round, the fall and winter creates unique opportunities.

These opportunities, for some, may seem mundane and just down right boring but they are a necessity to any successful garden.

The first thing I do before the avalanche of seed catalogs come in is to do my homework.

This includes looking over my garden journal and evaluating what was successful and why.

I may not know or understand every reason why Read the rest of this entry »