Just a Man in His Kitchen: Tomato Sauce
Posted by By Frank at 22 October, at 22 : 46 PM Print
When it came time to decide which recipe I would share first, I strained my brain for days. Where would I begin this culinary voyage? So many options… so many possibilities… In the end, I decided to lean toward my Italian roots (and when it comes to cooking I seem to lean toward my Italian side a lot). Any Italian dish can live or die by the sauce that blankets it, so I figured why not start with this basic, yet essential, element: the tomato sauce. My tomato sauce has not let me down yet, so let us begin here. Here’s what you’ll need to make your tomato sauce, or gravy as they like to call it:
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 cup diced celery
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1o Roma tomatoes
- 1 12-oz can tomato paste
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup red wine
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1 tbsp sugar
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
The dish starts with a simple “stewing” of tomatoes. Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 10 Roma tomatoes to the boiling water. Slice an X in the bottom of each tomato before adding it to the water (not too deep now, just a nice shallow X to get that skin wanting to jump off the tomato). Boil for about 10 minutes. You will see the skin begin to peel off. Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and place them immediately into a bowl of cold ice water. Let them rest for about 10 more minutes and the skins should finish peeling off. Remove the tomatoes from the water and peel any skin remnants. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and slice them. They’re gonna be very juicy and that tomato juice is going to want to run everywhere so be careful slicing them so as not to lose all that juice; you’re gonna want that in your sauce! Place the tomato slices and juices into a bowl. Add one tablespoon each of salt and sugar. Stir, and then place into the refrigerator for an hour or so until you are ready to use them.
In a large stock pot add olive oil and then one cup each of diced red onion, diced carrot and diced celery (this is the French mirepoix, the base for many Mediterranean sauces and dishes – See! You learned a little French too!). Also add about 3 cloves of garlic, minced. Allow to cook down for about 5 minutes or so until softened. Add in one tablespoon each of dried oregano and dried thyme leaves. Add a little salt and pepper. Stir regularly until softened. Add in the tomatoes from the refrigerator along with one cup of chicken stock (or broth). Stir and cook down for about 5 minutes or so. Use an immersion blender to break down the tomato and vegetables, then add one large can of tomato paste. Stir to incorporate the paste into the vegetables and stock. Add one cup of water and one cup of red wine (I recommend Chianti, Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah). Lastly add in about ½ cup of diced fresh basil. Stir all the ingredients together and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes or longer, stirring regularly.
Voila! You have a tasty, basic tomato sauce that you can use as a base for a lot of different Italian dishes!
[...] in your diced, peeled tomatoes. If you’re not sure how to peel Roma tomatoes, refer to the tomato sauce recipe. Finally add in the thyme and oregano as well as salt and pepper. Whisk everything together and [...]
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