Things to do with the rest of a bottle of passata

While the capability to make pizza wasn't the sole consideration behind the kitchen renovation, the particular model of oven Madam selected after extensive research was, I was informed, very highly rated in the pizza department.

As a result, very early on in the piece round slabs of dough with a tomato, mozzarella and something topping started passing through the oven on a fairly regular basis.

We haven't progressed too far beyond the tomato base with anchovies and fresh basil under the cheese stage yet, but after an initial exploration of the ready made pizza base we're now at the total do it yourself stage with one notable exception.

While my basic tomato sauce would do the job rather well we tend to keep a jar of passata in the pantry so we're ready for pizza action at the slightest provocation.

Unfortunately jars of passata tend to be rather large and a pizza only requires a tad from the jar, which means that even if you've lined up for pizza on successive nights (one serve of dough makes two pizzas, and a single pizza does the two of us) you're going to have most of the jar left over.

At the moment we tend to split the dough into serve one today and freeze one for later portions, so we've also got a fair chunk of the 80g jar of anchovies left, which, in turn means that we need to use them asap as well.

Fortunately in these circumstances there's an old favourite in the form of pasta al sugo di pomodoro e accuigne, as found in the Ursel Norman Pasta! Pasta! A Collection of Pasta Recipes recipe book that has formed the basis of Hughesy's long term attraction to pasta over the past thirty-five years.

I've made this one so often that I don't need to consult the book other than checking the correct spelling of the name. Madam tends to shy away from this one, so it's a single serve on a hungry night or a two night split if we're only mildly famished.

PASTA AL SUGO DI POMODORO E ACCUIGNE

INGREDIENTS:
around half an 80g jar of anchovies
a little non-anchovy olive oil
some of the oil the anchovies were packed in
one or two garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
parsley or similar herbal flavour enhancer to taste
400g tin of diced tomatoes or a substantial portion of the leftover jar of passata
around 150g pasta of choice per person depending on size of appetite (150 does me, mileage may vary)

METHOD:
Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the garlic and simmer briefly without browning. Add anchovies and herbs, cook long enough to heat through then add the tomato content, bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer long enough to thicken. How much you thicken the sauce depends on the pasta. Anything hollow gets a slightly more liquid sauce, otherwise you want something thick enough to coat the pasta loosely.

Cook the pasta till al dente, drain, mix into the sauce and you're ready to roll. I happen to like the sauce enough to wolf down the whole lot in one sitting, but otherwise you could halve the sauce before adding the pasta.

That still leaves about half a jar of passata to consume, and I found this one in a Women's Weekly pasta cookbook. It also uses up the rest of the pepperoni if you've opened a 125g package to go on the pizza.

TOMATO SAUCE WITH SALAMI AND BASIL

INGREDIENTS:
Olive oil
An onion, chopped or thinly sliced, depending on your own preference. I tend to halve and then slice.
125g sliced salami or pepperoni (I go for pepperoni, but if it was a standard salami I'd be adding a seeded and chopped chilli)
the rest of the jar of passata
400g can diced tomatoes
fresh basil, chopped, to taste (work from two tablespoons, then round up or down)
2 tsp sugar
200-300g pasta

Method:
Heat the oil in a frypan or wok (we have a dedicated use this with chilli wok), add onion and salami and cook over medium heat until the onion starts to soften. Stir in passate, tomatoes, basil and sugar , stir, bring to the boil and simmer about five minutes until sauce thickens.

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and combine with sauce.

So there you go. One serve of pizza dough, one jar of passata, somewhere between four and six meals for a reasonably healthy appetite and an interesting exercise when it comes to a wine match. I'd go for the Thorn-Clarke Morello Nebbiolo, a Barbera or Sangiovese, a GSM blend or something in the chilled Rose line. Well, four to six meals, four to six different wines, eh?