22.6 Tomato sauces

The first known use of tomato sauce with pasta is in L'Apicio moderno, an Italian cookbook of 1790 by the Roman chef Francesco Leonardi. "Tomato sauce", also called Neapolitan sauce or salsa di pomodoro, covers many sauces made mostly from tomatoes and meant to be part of a dish, not a condiment on the side. They go with meat and vegetables, form the base of Mexican salsas, and dress pasta.

Tomatoes almost make the sauce themselves. They are full of flavor and water, their soft flesh breaks down easily, and as they cook they thicken without roux. The classic mother sauce was tomatoes, vegetables, seasonings and white stock thickened with a blond or brown roux. Most kitchens today skip the roux and simply simmer tomatoes with herbs, spices, vegetables and other flavorings, then purée the lot.

If a tomato sauce is too sharp, finish it with a gastrique: a little sugar cooked to caramel, then thinned with vinegar.

A good tomato sauce is thick, rich and full of flavor. It is a little grainier than most classic sauces but still smooth. The vegetables and seasonings add flavor without any one standing out. It should be deep red, not bitter, sour or too sweet, and thick enough to cling.

To make 4 L (1 gal.) of the classic sauce:

• Render 120 g (4 oz) of diced salt pork, then sauté 750 g (1 lb 8 oz) of mirepoix in the fat without browning it.
• Add 3 L (3 qt) of fresh or canned tomatoes, 2 L (2 qt) of tomato purée, a sachet (thyme, bay, garlic, parsley stems and crushed peppercorns), salt and a little sugar.
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• Add 3 L (3 qt) of white stock and 1 kg (2 lb) of pork bones.
• Simmer slowly for 1 to 2 hours, until thick enough.
• Lift out the bones and the sachet, then work the sauce through a food mill.
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Each small sauce starts from 1 L (1 qt) of tomato sauce and ends with salt and pepper to taste:

• Creole: sauté finely diced onion, sliced celery and garlic in oil; add the tomato sauce with a bay leaf and thyme and simmer 15 minutes; add sliced green pepper and hot pepper sauce and simmer 15 minutes more; remove the bay leaf.
• Spanish: Creole sauce with sliced mushrooms cooked along with the onion, garnished with sliced black or green olives.
• Milanaise: sauté sliced mushrooms in butter, add the tomato sauce, stir in julienned cooked ham and tongue, and bring to a simmer.

Once made, the sauce is cooled in a water bath and refrigerated. Cooked vegetables count as potentially hazardous food, and this sauce also holds stock and pork. Cool it to 20°C (70°F) from 60°C (140°F) within two hours and to 4°C (40°F) within four more, and keep it refrigerated at 4°C or colder.