Perfect Tomato Sauce

There's nothing that unusual about what goes into this tomato sauce, it's the cooking process -- finished in the oven -- that makes it different. Roasting the sauce gives the tomatoes a lot more flavor.

2 28 oz cans of San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flake (or aleppo pepper)
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 1/2 tsp fresh oregano
2 TB olive oil
1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped.

Preheat oven to 350

Heat up dutch oven with olive oil, and add onions and carrots. Sauté for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Then add garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flake, and oregano. Cook for 2-4 minutes until you can really smell the garlic. Add the two cans of tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then turn off stove. Cover dutch oven and place in oven for 1 hour. At the 30 minute mark, take out of oven and give a stir and try to break up tomatoes.

After hour the tomatoes should have fallen apart. If needed, break them up by stirring vigorously with wooden spoon. If you want a perfectly smooth sauce, use an immersion blender.

Lamb and Chickpea Stew

I've been cooking lots. You wouldn't know it because I've been neglecting SatltySourSpiceySweet. I promise to share more. Good news is that I've made lots of yummy things the last few weeks. The creative juices have been flowing.

Here's a recipe that I have adopted from Cooking Light. Chickpeas are so much more then hummus. They are wonderful all on their own. Try eating them whole.

1 pound of lamb stew meat
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 tsp aleppo pepper (red pepper flake will work too)
1 tsp cumin
1 TB tomato paste
1 TB honey
2 cups chicken stock (homemade is best, but store bought is good too)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 cups of chickpeas (or 1 15 oz). I actually bought the dried beans, and used chickpeas in a bunch of different recipes over a week.

Heat up dutch oven or large soup pot with a a little olive oil. Pat stewing meat dry, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Brown meat on both sides, and then set aside. Add onions, red pepper and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, then add salt, aleppo pepper and cumin. Cook for another few minutes. Add back lamb, and add tomato paste and honey. Stir until meat is coated with paste and honey. Add chicken stock and chickpeas. Bring to boil and then turn to low and let simmer covered for 1 hour.

Stir in cilantro before serving. Best to serve over couscous.