Ginned Tomato Sauce

Ginned Tomato Sauce brings together the woodsy-herbal elements of dry gin with the sweetness of fresh tomatoes.  Relatively quick and easy to make, Ginned Tomato Sauce imbues the tomato sauce with the gin’s flavor elements, yielding a surprisingly tasty yet simple sauce.  Ginned Tomato Sauce is best served with a long form pasta like fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti or angel hair but go with your favorite. Begin with a starter of Grilled Asparagus, pair this lively, different sauce with a crisp, dry white wine and offer grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses at the table.

Prepare sophisticated Ginned Tomato Sauce at your house and enjoy a dry martini while you’re cooking it, shaken or stirred is up to you.

Prep Time: 15 minutes, Total Time: 45 minutes. Serves 4.

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Ingredients:

• 3 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small Onion, finely chopped, approximately ½ cup
• ¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper flakes
• ¼ tsp coarse Sea Salt
• 2 Tbs Juniper Berries
• 1/3 Cup + 2 Tbs Dry Gin, at room temperature
• 6 large Roma Tomatoes, chopped

Preparation:

1. Combine the extra virgin olive oil and onion in a 2-quart saucepan and sauté uncovered over a medium heat until the onion becomes transparent.
2. Add crushed red pepper flakes and sea salt to the saucepan and continue to sauté uncovered for two minutes.
3. Add the 1/3 cup gin and juniper berries to the saucepan and raise temperature to medium-high heat. Cook uncovered to reduce the liquid down by half its volume. 
4. Add the tomatoes to the saucepan, stir to mix the ingredients and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer the ingredients together until the tomatoes cook down and form a sauce. 
5. Remove the sauce from the heat; remove and discard the juniper berries.
6. Add the remaining two tablespoons of gin to the sauce and stir.
7. Spoon Ginned Tomato Sauce over pasta and serve with grated Parmesan and Romano cheeses.