Al Pomodoro -Twenty Minute Tomato Sauce

Al Pomodoro (tomato sauce series)-post 1

Al Pomodoro -Twenty Minute Tomato Sauce

Time....something like 20 minutes (sometimes more, sometimes less...but it’s quick nonetheless)

I am a vehement opposer of bottled tomato sauce, in fact, I am not too delighted about most canned foods (but we can save that angry rant for later). Most tomato sauces are missing the intensity that comes from home cooking fresh tomatoes. There are some brands that are quite good, but they are very expensive. In any case, I have developed many suitable replacements for bottled tomato sauce. Most of them require hours to cook, this one takes less than 30 minutes and it’s bursting with flavor. Before beginning this recipe, you need to be make some special preparations. First, you must use a stainless steel or cast iron pan, these types of metal deal much better with high heats. Second, use an apron, this dish splatters! Third, I typically make this dish in the summer. The quality of the sauce is directly correlated with the sweetness and fleshiness of the tomatoes. However, if you can find good tomatoes during the rest of the year, be my guest.

This recipe makes enough to dress pasta for 4 people (depending on the size of the tomatoes it could be more...or it could be less).

7-8 roma tomatoes (I like to use heirlooms, and some of them can be quite big, if you use 8 big heirlooms, you’ll have enough sauce for an army. Substitute accordingly.)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

dash of balsamic vinegar and/or dash of red wine

half teaspoon of red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

good olive oil

Coarsely chop the tomatoes while heating a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet, sauce pan or wok (again, no non-stick please) over highest possible heat. When the oil is smoking, toss in the tomatoes and garlic together (if you put the garlic in first, as many do, it will burn). Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. You have to pay attention to this dish, constantly tossing it so that nothing burns. The tomatoes should be consistently losing their shape and deteriorating into a sauce. When they do finally lose their shape (10-20 minutes, depending on heat and other factors), toss in the vinegar and/or wine (if you do use wine, the fumes may ignite, it is fine if they do, but be careful). After about 3 minutes turn off the heat and toss in the basil. Make sure that until the very end, you keep the heat high.

Now you have a delicious sauce in your pan, what are you going to do with it? It is obviously wonderful with pasta. If you do choose to serve it with pasta, make sure to save about half a cup of the starchy pasta water to toss in the pan. In addition to the creaminess that this brings, it helps the sauce stick to the noodles.

However, I do not think that pasta is the only way to go for this sauce. This is an excellent addition to grilled or pan fried chicken or steak, can be used as a sauce for fish, but my favorite application is to serve it with seafood. Shrimp, scallops, or squid (my personal favorite) will cook very quickly if tossed into this sauce just before you add the basil. For squid especially, it is best to toss the squid in and mix it around for about 20 seconds, throw the basil in and turn the heat off. Serve immediately over a bed of wilt-able lettuce like arugula or baby spinach with a nice crusty bread and a glass of red wine. This tomato squid (shrimp or scallops if you are a afraid of tentacles) saute is a delicious, quick and cost-effective dish.

As always, there are many variations to this dish, it is really just a platform for some wonderful food-enjoy, create, explore and please share your discoveries with me.