Tomato-based sauces
Tomato-based sauces have become the symbol of popular Italian cooking. They accompany all sorts of dishes: pasta, gnocchi, polenta, bread (either toasted or plain).
To prepare these tomato-based sauces, use fresh tomatoes in summer and canned in winter. The latter have the advantage of being picked when ripe and immediately put into cans. Good- quality brands of canned tomatoes are generally the sweetest and most flavorsome. It is only in summer, and particularly in August and September, that you can make the sauces with really red, ripe tomatoes purchased from a market.
Choose tomatoes canned in tomato juice rather than water as the latter are generally acidic. To prepare a coulis, just mix with a stick blender. You can determine the consistency of the coulis by controlling the speed and time of mixing.
As regards the cooking of the tomato sauce, the result will be very different if the tomato is cooked for just a few minutes, to evaporate the juice, or for more than 2 hours. In the first case, you’ll get afresh, light sauce. In the second, you will have what is called a stracotto, a thicker, more concentrated, and flavor some sauce.
Tomato and Basil Sauce Cooking Recipe – Pomodoro e basilico Recipe
This is the simplest, most classic of tomato sauces, prepared in 20 minutes with fresh or canned tomatoes.
Serves 4
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lb. (1.2 kg) ripe tomatoes or 2 ½ cups (14 oz./400 g) canned, peeled tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic
- A few basil leaves
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
- Salt
Cooking Method
- Wash the tomatoes, peel them (with a serrated vegetable peeler or by immersing them in boiling water for a few seconds, then in cold water); remove the stalk and core (remove the seeds too, if you wish).
- Crush the garlic. Cook the tomatoes for 15 minutes in a saucepan with the garlic, chopped basil, and olive oil, season with salt.
- Press through a sieve or vegetable mill (or not, if you prefer a more rustic sauce).
- Serve this sauce with a dish of pasta and add plenty of grated Parmesan.
Chef’s note
- For some dishes, such as gnocchi or fresh egg pasta, replace the olive oil with butter as a very good alternative.
Variations
- Marinara sauce: replace the basil with chopped parsley.
- Arrabbiata sauce: cook with garlic and finely chopped dried Thai/bird (bird’s eye) chili; replace the basil with chopped parsley at the end of the cooking time.
- Pizzaiola sauce: replace the basil with chopped parsley and oregano.
Uncooked Tomato Sauce Cooking Recipe – Salsa crudaiola Recipe
This is a sauce for the summer, using raw tomatoes.
The higher the quality of the tomatoes, the better the sauce will be.
Serves 4
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 lb. (600 g) ripe tomatoes
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- A few basil leaves, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
- Salt
- 1 chili (optional)
Cooking Method
- Wash the tomatoes and peel them (with a serrated vegetable peeler or by immersing them in boiling water for a few seconds, then in cold water) (1). Remove the stalk and core (remove the seeds too, if you wish).
- Dice or cut the tomatoes into quarters and place them in a large bowl. Add the garlic (2) and basil, then season with salt and the chili if using it.
- Serve this sauce with a dish of pasta and add plenty, of grated Parmesan.
- You can also use this sauce to accompany cold pasta, fish, and grilled meat, or spread on slices of toasted bread to make bruschette.
