Best Tuscan Style Tomato Sauce Recipes

TUSCAN-STYLE TOMATO SAUCE

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.

TOMATO SAUCE, TUSCAN STYLE

Steps:

• 1 Pour the oil into a medium saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and golden, about 15 minutes. 2 Stir in the tomatoes, broth, red pepper, and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer. Partially cover the pan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. 3 Stir in the basil. Serve hot. Can be made ahead and stored in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 2 months. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.