Monday, August 25, 2008

Eating Well is the Best Revenge



Here's some interesting news:

EATING reheated spaghetti bolognese could reduce your risk of cancer.
Scientists have discovered that multiple rounds of heating - plus a little extra oil - enhance the health benefits of processed tomatoes.
The technique alters the structure of the tomato molecule lycopene so that it is more easily transported into the bloodstream.
Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, has been shown to prevent cancers and may also combat heart disease and diabetes. Previous studies indicated that processing raw tomatoes into purees or sauces increased the benefits...

... Corn oil was added to both sauces, but the key to producing ‘bent’ lycopene was a 40-minute second round of heating at 127c. The resulting sauce contained nine times more ‘bent’ lycopene.

I'd use olive oil, but simmering it for an extra hour is something I'll do anyway, if there's time.

This sounds like something you could do with bottled sauce but you can do much better on your own. What I do is a variation on a Rachael Ray Puttanesca Sauce:

4 tablespoons (4 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tin flat anchovy fillets, drained
1 /2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
20 oil-cured calmata cracked away from pit and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons capers
1 (32-ounce) can chunky style crushed tomatoes
1 (32-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 small can tomato paste
A few grinds black pepper
1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat leaf parsley, chopped
oregano to taste
balsamic vinegar to taste 2 tbs or so

You can pretty much follow Yummo's instructions on the link

Trying it on the squeamish for the first time, you may want to halve the anchovies, and don't tell anyone they're in there. Some people won't like olives, either, but really, such people aren't worthy of being your friends. Add hamburger, ground pork, or meatballs if you like. Simmer for a long time, and live forever, eating spaghetti. Mmmm.

0 comments:

fighting101s.jpg