How To

1. Prepare the rice by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Add a handful of salt. Add the rice and mix with a wooden spoon for the first minute or so to prevent the kernels from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the kernels are soft yet still firm. Quickly drain them and transfer to a bowl along with the butter. Mix well and set aside.
2. When starting to assemble the dish, preheat the oven to 400° F. Place cooked rice in a large bowl. Add 3 cups of tomato sauce, 1 1/2 cups of the béchamel, nutmeg and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and mix well.
3. Ladle 1/2 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a large baking dish and, with a spoon or spatula, make sure to cover all sides with a coating of the sauce. Spoon half the rice mixture on the bottom of the baking dish, making sure to create an even surface. Spoon out the remaining cup of béchamel sauce and spread out uniformly across entire surface. Cover with remaining rice.
4. Place dish in the oven and lower the temperature to 375° F. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a nice crust has developed on the surface. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Tomato Sauce

1. Place the grated onion in a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot or dutch oven and add the oil (You can use extra virgin if it’s the only thing you have in the house, it’s just more expensive and its coveted flavor, so wonderful raw on a salad for instance, is completely lost.)
2. Sweat, or slowly cook, the grated onion on medium heat with a little sea salt for about 20 minutes, just until the onion becomes translucent. Cooking the onion too quickly over too high a heat can create bitterness, so it’s important to cook it SLOWLY.
3. While the onion is sweating, open up the can of tomatoes and pour into a vegetable mill that’s resting on top of a large bowl. Start turning it. Change directions from time to time, as it will more effectively squeeze out the tomatoes flesh and juice. Keep turning, clockwise and counter-clockwise until the tomato bits in the vegetable mill start to look shriveled and dried out.
4. Pour the very ‘liquidy’ remains of the tomatoes into the now fully sweated onions. Add salt to taste and a teaspoon of sugar if the sauce tastes a little acidic and you want to slightly sweeten it.
5. Cook the tomato puree and sweated onion for 30 minutes on medium heat, stirring every 10 minutes or so. You should see a gently bubbling in the pot. As it cooks, the sauce will evaporate a little and will begin to thicken nicely.
6. Once thickened, the sauce is done. If you wish, place a few washed leaves of basil on top and close the lid for 5 minutes. Serve with plenty of Parmesan and the pasta shape of your choice. This recipe makes enough to coat a pound of pasta (spaghetti, penne, rotini, etc.).

Béchamel Sauce

1. Place the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and melt it completely without letting it turn brown. Add the flour. Quickly whisk until the mixture becomes velvety smooth.
2. Whisking all the while, cook the flour and butter mixture over medium heat for about 5 to 8 minutes. You will notice that it will start to foam slightly as it bubbles. Continue whisking. Eventually the foaming will subside and the mixture will turn slightly darker and more golden in color.
3. At this point, pour in ½ a cup or so of the milk and whisk vigorously once again until you’ve loosened the thick flour mixture. Add the rest of the milk, whisking constantly. Within minutes the mixture will start to thicken. Add sea salt and the optional ground white pepper and freshly-grated nutmeg. Taste to make sure the seasoning is to your liking. Yield: 3 cups.

How To

1. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot or cast-iron Dutch oven on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add oil and turn heat up to medium-high. Heat the oil for a minute or two and then add the grated onion and a couple pinches of salt and mix well. Once the onion begins to sizzle, lower the heat to low and give it one last stir. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cooking the onion too quickly over too high a heat can create bitterness, so it’s important to cook it SLOWLY.
2. Heat the olive oil or melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot or dutch oven and add the grated onion. (If using oil, you can use extra virgin if it’s the only thing you have in the house, it’s just more expensive and its coveted flavor, so wonderful raw on a salad, is completely lost.)
3. While the onion cooks, pour 1 can of tomatoes into a vegetable mill that’s resting on top of a large bowl. Turn, changing directions from time to time (doing so will more effectively squeeze out the tomatoes flesh and juice), until the tomato bits in the vegetable mill start to look shriveled and dried out. Repeat the same step with the second can of tomatoes.
4. Pour the very ‘liquidy’ remains of the tomatoes into the cooked onion, along with a few pinches of salt (to taste) and a teaspoon of sugar (to tame the acidity of the tomatoes). Raise the heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Adjust heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. You should see a gentle bubbling in the pot.
5. Once thickened, the sauce is done. If you wish, place a few washed leaves of basil on top and close the lid for 5 minutes. Serve with plenty of Parmesan and the pasta shape of your choice. This recipe makes enough to coat a pound of pasta (spaghetti, penne, rotini, etc.).