Yes, I am still thinking about Anna's mom's tomato sauce, otherwise just known as the sauce. In fact, after thinking about it non-stop for a month after leaving Sicily and constantly wishing I was eating it instead of whatever I was really having for lunch or dinner, I decided that to shake my obsession, I either needed to go back to Sciacca immediately, or make it here in Bologna. After consulting with both Anna, who is now back in Pasadena, and Teresa (Anna’s mom), I gave it a try, and found that it isn’t hard to make and it came out great. Of course it's not quite as good as when Teresa made it in Sicily, but Paul and I still loved it and now I am even more officially hooked. This will probably become a weekly habit while tomatoes are still in season.
If you are growing tomatoes or can find them at a farmer’s market at a good price, then trust me that you have to make this sauce. Both Teresa and Anna mentioned that smaller varieties, such as the size of Roma tomatoes or even smaller are best. The water content should be low and the flavor concentrated. Make sure that they smell like a sunny summer garden or else it isn’t worth making the sauce.
Besides the tomatoes, the other important thing you need is a food mill to remove the seeds and skins from the sauce and puree it. We didn’t have one so I found one last week at an outdoor market for 10 euro. They were also selling one for 5 euro but it was plastic and made in China so I opted for the stainless steel one that was made here in Italy and will take it home as a souvenir. Hopefully you can also find an affordable one in the States.
Once you make the sauce, you can use it a number of ways. Teresa served it over spaghetti with thin slices of eggplant fried in olive oil as well as grated pecorino cheese. We made it the same way here in Bologna and it is a perfect combination. It is a very simple dish but will really impress you because of the quality of the sauce.
Ready to try it? Here is the recipe. All credit goes to Teresa Grobe and Anna Hjorth. Makes approximately 8 cups of sauce.
Ingredients:
--2 kilos (about 4.5 lbs) tomatoes, quartered
--1 onion (about 3” in diameter), sliced into half moons
--3-5 cloves of garlic, cut into halves
--1 small bunch basil leaves, stems discarded. This is about 1 cup of loosely packed basil leaves.
--Very generous drizzle of olive oil – enough to coat the vegetables
--Kosher salt to taste – be conservative at the start and you can add more at the end.
Instructions:
1) Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Do not add water!
2 ) Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for around 2 hours until the level of tomatoes in the pot reduces to about half.
3) Set aside and cool.
4) Pass through a vegetable mill to puree the sauce and remove all skin and seeds. The consistency of the sauce will be thinner than jarred pasta sauce usually is in the states. The consistency should be similar to thick tomato juice.
5) Store airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a week or so. Or freeze for later use.
I hope you get hooked too!!
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