Simple tomato sauce key to Italian cuisine
Food: Though not native to Italy, tomatoes have become part of standard-bearing sauce

BY DAVE CATHEY Comments 10
Published: October 14, 2009

Basic Italian-style tomato sauce over handmade pasta with grilled Italian sausage and basil. Photo by DAVE CATHEY, THE OKLAHOMAN

While it’s a common misconception that the use of tomatoes begins and ends with Italy, regardless of ancient cooking practices, tomato sauce is synonymous with Italian cuisine today.

Multimedia

More Info

Finding ingredients

→Too busy to make pasta? Chefs Jonathan Stranger and Ryan Parrott of Seasons Catering supply handmade pasta noodles such as those pictured in The Oklahoman today. They sell their pasta through the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, which you find online at www.oklahomafood.coop. If you’re not a co-op member, contact Seasons at 607-8131.

→Looking for San Marzano tomatoes in a can? Crescent Market, 6409 Avondale Drive, sells three brands. For more information, call 842-2000.

NewsOK Related Articles

Consistent quality, happy diners are Oklahoma City...
10/14/2009 Owner Rick Gratch caught himself calling Caffe Pranzo a "hole in the wall” Italian restaurant, but he’s not wrong. It just happens to be a...

Tomatoes were introduced in Italy by the Spanish by way of the New World in the 16th century. The Italians not only have made the pomodoro their own but have become the standard-bearers for its use.

Tomato sauce is one of the five "mother” sauces. You can make it an all-day affair, sweating onions and garlic with herbs and roasting the tomatoes, or you can use quality canned tomatoes.

Here’s a simple sauce made from canned San Marzano tomatoes that takes less than an hour and will work with a myriad of recipes.

Tomato Sauce
¼ cup olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely diced

4 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, or ½ tablespoon dried

2 tablespoons fresh oregano, or ½ tablespoon dried

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 medium carrot, finely grated

2 bay leaves

2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole San Marzano tomatoes.

Salt and pepper to taste

Spaghetti, cooked al dente

Whole basil leaves, for garnish

Grated fresh Parmesan (optional)

→Have two bowls ready. In the first bowl, strain the tomato juice. Crush the remaining tomatoes by hand and strain the juice into the first bowl. Put the pulp into the second bowl. Set both aside.

→In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 3 to 5 more minutes, until soft and light golden brown.

→Add the thyme, oregano and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is soft.

→Add the tomato juice and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Add the remaining pulp and cook another 30 minutes, until the consistency is like oatmeal.

→Use an immersion blender to adjust the consistency to your preference. If you like a chunky sauce, skip this step.

→Season with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves over pasta. To ensure the integrity of the pasta, mix it into the sauce.

→Note: This sauce will keep a week in the refrigerator and six months in the freezer.

→Source: Dave Cathey.