Slow-Cooked Summer Tomato Sauce
About half the tomato plants I put in our garden beds each summer are plum tomatoes, mainly Italian varieties but also some of the old-fashioned American “heirlooms” that are being revived. Of course, New York is not Naples, and our San Marzano and Roma tomatoes don’t absorb the intense sunlight that they would in Italy, but with my mother’s careful tending (and the kids’ attention too), the plants are prolific and the tomatoes big and sweet. When they ripen—by the bushel, it seems—we make these sauces, one with just tomatoes and the other with tomatoes and eggplant. They are simple sauces, mostly the primary vegetables and big “bouquets” of fresh-cut basil branches (and olive oil, onion, garlic, and peperoncino, naturally). Yet they have a freshness and intensity that are distinct from any sauce made with canned tomatoes, even the finest San Marzano tomatoes. We make both of these in large quantities, in part because the plants are so productive (and Grandma won’t let anything go to waste), but mostly because they are so delicious and versatile. I put them on pasta, eggs, meats, and other vegetables. They are key components in some of my favorite summer creations, including the vegetable lasagna and skillet gratinate that you will find elsewhere in this chapter. And I freeze as much of both sauces as I can—they keep for months and retain their fresh, summery flavor. It’s a joy to cook with them in December or January!
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 3 quarts of sauce
Ingredients
Recommended Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the tomatoes for sauce, following one of the methods detailed on page 261, and mix all the pulp and strained juices together.
Initial Sautéing
Step 2
Put the oil in the saucepan, add the onions and 1 teaspoon of the salt, set over medium heat, and stir well. Cook and soften the onions for 7 minutes or so, stirring frequently and adjusting the heat to make sure they don’t brown.
Step 3
When the onions are wilted, golden, and translucent, push them aside to clear a space in the bottom of the pan. Drop the garlic in the “hot spot,” spread the bits and let them caramelize slightly, for a minute or more, then stir them together with the onions. Pour 2 tablespoons of water into the pan, stir everything well, and let the vegetables cook and soften for another minute.
Adding the Tomatoes and Seasonings
Step 4
Pour the prepared tomatoes into the saucepan (slosh out your tomato bowl with a cup or two of water, and pour in those juices too). Sprinkle in the peperoncino and another teaspoon of salt, and stir well to blend the seasonings and sautéed onion and garlic into the tomatoes. Finally, push the “bouquet” of basil branches into the pot, pressing them down with a spoon until they’re completely submerged.
Step 5
Cover the pan, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down so the surface is just bubbling gently, and cook covered. Stir occasionally, and adjust the heat to maintain the slow perking.
Step 6
When the tomatoes have cooked thoroughly and broken down, after 30 minutes or so, remove the cover. Raise the heat slightly, so the perking picks up a bit and the sauce begins to reduce in volume. Stir now and then, more frequently as the sauce thickens, to prevent scorching. Don’t rush—it will take an hour or more of steady slow cooking to concentrate the tomatoes.
Step 7
When the sauce is no longer watery and has the consistency you like, remove the pan from the heat. Taste it, and stir in salt if needed. Let it cool, and before using or storing, pull out the basil branches, shaking them over the pot to get every last bit of sauce.
Step 8
The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week, or in the freezer, in a properly filled and sealed container, through the winter.
Sweet Corn Poached in Summer Tomato Sauce
Step 9
I shucked the corn and removed all the “silk,” rinsed the ears, and dropped four of them in the pot. I covered the saucepan so it quickly returned to a gentle boil, and cooked the ears for about 8 minutes, until the kernels were tender.
Step 10
Dripping with sauce, the corn looked beautiful and tasted great—and no one needed butter. In addition, the sauce in the pot gained extra sweetness.
Step 11
Try this whenever you make this summer tomato sauce. It’s easy to cook a half-dozen ears of corn when the large batch of tomatoes is cooking for the first time. Or you can reheat a quart or more of finished sauce and poach a couple of ears in it at a time.
