How to Cook Gachas In Tomato Sauce

Serves: 4-5

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients needed to make Gachas In Tomato Sauce:

For the gachas:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups water
• 1.5 cups cornmeal
• 2 tbsp salt

For the tomato sauce:

• 4 tomatoes, cored and peeled
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 sun-dried red peppers, seeded
• 4 fresh green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 15 fresh anchovies, rinsed, deheaded and cored
• Olive oil, as required
• Pinch of salt

Cooking instructions for Gachas In Tomato Sauce:

• For the tomato sauce, heat a lashing of olive oil in a frying pan and toss the whole red peppers into it.
• Stir fry them until they become fragrant and transfer them to a bowl; set aside.
• Throw the garlic into the same pan and sauté them for a couple of minutes or until they brown slightly; set aside.
• Heat some oil in an 8 quart pot and throw in the green peppers, along with a dash of salt.
• Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until it softens and plop in the tomatoes.
• Pour water into the pot until the tomatoes are completely immersed in it and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Reduce it to a simmer and continue to cook until the tomatoes soften and are properly cooked.
• Dump the stir fried garlic and pepper into a blender, and drain the cooked tomatoes out, using a slotted spoon, into the blender too.
• Pulse them into a smooth puree and pour it into a fine mesh sieve to strain it back to the large pot.
• Give it a nice stir to mix well and drop in the fresh anchovies.
• Continue to cook the mixture for about 7-8 minutes and stir in a dash of salt to season.
• Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
• For the gachas, fill a large, deep-bottomed sauce pan with water and stir in a couple of tbsp salt.
• Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to moderate.
• Dust a fistful of flour into it and give it a nice stir until well combined.
• Stir in a fistful of cornmeal and fold it into the simmering mixture until mixed thoroughly without forming any lumps.
• Continue adding flour and cornmeal alternately while whisking it into the mixture after every addition until all of the ingredients are incorporated into the mixture to form a thick blend resembling a bread dough.
• Continue to stir the mixture until it begins to adhere to the base of the pan and turns flaky around the sides.
• Turn off the heat once the dough gather in the middle to form a firm mound and pour in half of the cooled tomato sauce.
• Slice out small dumplings, using a sharp knife, until the entire dough is fragmented up and smother it with rest of the tomato sauce.
• Serve right away.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons