Ingredients:
Good olive oil. I prefer extra virgin.
8 cans 14 1/2 oz italian tomatoes (any cut tomatoes will do in a pinch)
4 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions (about 8 onions)
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dried basil, or 1 cup fresh 1 tbl dried oregano, or 2 tbl fresh
1/2 cup dried italian parsley, or 1 cup fresh 1 small dried red pepper,
crushed finely
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns; Put in a plastic bag and pound
with a hammer 'til pulverized. Note: Pre-ground pepper will NOT do!
Salt to taste. Start with 1/2 tsp, and go up slowly at the end.
1/2 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
4 packages frozen fresh artichoke hearts, or equivalent canned. NOT
marinated!
Method:
First prepare the onions, garlic, herbs, and pepper.
Get the biggest stock pot you have, the deeper the better. Pour enough good olive oil to coat the bottom and add another tablespoon.
Heat olive oil and sauté' onions, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley and dried red pepper over medium heat 5 minutes.
Add pounded black pepper.
Add tomatoes and salt to the sauce, and simmer uncovered over medium heat, 1 hour.
Add frozen artichokes, stir often for an hour. Keep uncovered as it needs to simmer down.
Stir in the cheese, taste, adjust seasoning, and serve over your favorite pasta. I prefer angel hair spaghetti. Put out a bowl of the cheese on the table for sprinkling.
This is a company meal for us, made a day ahead for sanity's sake, and served with steamed artichokes, a good caesar salad, and crusty french bread. It is delicious hot, or cold, and freezes well. The flavors start out delicious and improve with time. We tend to eat it almost non-stop when we have it in the house. It *is* peppery enough that our young children prefer to eat something else. It is also quite low calorie!