TUSCAN-STYLE TOMATO SAUCE

TUSCAN-STYLE TOMATO SAUCE image

Categories Sauce Tomato Vegetarian Dinner

Yield 10 People

Number Of Ingredients 6

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Ingredients

4 pounds fresh ripe plum tomatoes. I use San Marzano tomatoes exclusively. Fresh ones can be found from August to October in many Farmers' Markets in the SF Bay Area, otherwise use imported canned Italian "San Marzano" WHOLE tomatoes in their juice. (Recommend Strianese Brand D.O.P. http://www.amazon.com/Strianese-Peeled- D-O-P-Marzano-Tomatoes/dp/B000N36F9E)
11⁄2 cup chopped carrots
11⁄2 cup chopped onions
1⁄2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Steps:

1) Wash the tomatoes in cold water. Cut them in half lengthwise. Place in a heavy saucepan (I use an All Clad sauce pan, the tomatoes should fill no higher than 1/2 the height of the pan), COVER, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. (If using canned tomatoes, ignore this step and start at step #3 with 4 cups of canned tomatoes with their juice) 2) Meanwhile, put 3-4 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a small sauté pan, place it on medium heat and sauté the carrots for 10 minutes. (The goal here is to get them to soften up a bit before added to the sauce to make it easier to pass through the food mill later. If you have an "industrial strength" food mill, this step is not necessary, proceed straight to step #3). 3) Add the carrots, onion, salt (I recommend 11⁄2 teaspoons for this quantity, but this needs to be adjusted for personal taste and health considerations accordingly) and sugar and cook at a steady simmer UNCOVERED, for 30 minutes. 4) Purée everything through a food mill into fresh pan (or transfer the sauce to another pan or bowl and purée it back into this saucepan), using the disc with the smallest holes. This is the most arduous step, but it's important to use the right disc to remove the skin and seeds, and you want to end up with no more than 1⁄2 cup of vegetable matter left in the food mill to maximize the flavor of the sauce. Make sure and scrape off the bottom of the disc with a spatula to get all of the puréed vegetables. Get the kids to help if your arms get tired! This step takes about 10-15 minutes. 5) Add the remaining olive oil (what wasn't used to sauté the carrots) to the sauce and cook UNCOVERED for an additional 15 minutes. Taste and correct for salt. Note: This sauce is well suited for most kinds of pasta, and can be used on top of Italian style meatloaf with great results. If frozen, defrost and simmer lightly, UNCOVERED, for just 10 minutes.