Purée de Tomates

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •5 to 6-quart heavy lidded saucepan or Dutch oven
• •Food mill with medium disk
• •Sturdy fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof spatula or wooden spoon
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Set the formula

   Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C) with a rack in the middle. This purée follows the sequence established by Tomato Sauce (No. 29), but the distinction is exact: add no flour, and use only 1 cup of white stock for this halved batch. Reserve 1 teaspoon (5 g) of the butter for sealing the finished surface.

   Use a pot holding at least 5 quarts. The purée needs room for safe stirring during its final boil, when the thick tomato mixture begins to spit.
2. 2

   Render the pork

   Put the salt pork and remaining butter into the cold pot, then set it over medium-low heat. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pork grows translucent, releases its fat, and takes only a faint gold color around the edges. Don't crisp it hard. If it browns before the fat has rendered, lower the heat and add a teaspoon of the measured stock.

3. 3

   Cook the mirepoix

   Add the mirepoix (diced carrot and onion), bay leaf, and thyme. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring and scraping the pot, until the vegetables soften, shine with pork fat and butter, and begin to color lightly at their edges. Pale vegetables give a thin foundation, but dark browning would make the tomato taste muddy. Aim for gentle gold.

4. 4

   Add tomato and stock

   Add the crushed tomatoes and white stock, mixing until the vegetables and pork are evenly distributed. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, scraping every flavorful trace from the pot floor. Add the salt, sugar, pepper, and crushed garlic only once it boils, keeping the source formula's sequence intact.

5. 5

   Cook it gently

   Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Stir after 45 minutes and again near the end, reaching firmly into the corners. The tomatoes should collapse completely and the mixture should deepen to a rich brick red. If the bottom feels sticky, don't scrape up a scorched layer. Spoon the clean purée into another pot, leave the dark patch behind, add 2 tablespoons of hot stock, and continue at 300°F (150°C). Ça se rattrape, provided you catch it before the burnt taste spreads.

6. 6

   Pass the purée

   Remove the bay leaf and thyme. Pass the hot mixture through a food mill fitted with its medium disk into a clean bowl, then through a sturdy fine-mesh sieve for the smoothest finish. If using the sieve alone, work in small batches and press firmly with a ladle or flexible scraper. The softened pork, carrot, and onion belong in the purée; leave only dry skins, seeds, fibers, and stubborn fragments behind. Scrape the thick purée clinging beneath the sieve into the bowl.

7. 7

   Reduce to a ribbon

   Return the strained purée to a clean tall pot and bring it to a steady boil over medium heat, stirring continuously along the bottom and into every corner. Reduce for 5 to 15 minutes, until it coats the spoon generously and falls back in a thick ribbon that slowly settles into the surface. If it remains loose, keep reducing. If it becomes too dense to stir comfortably, whisk in hot white stock 1 tablespoon at a time. Reduction is the thickener, but scorching is not technique.

8. 8

   Seal and store

   Taste the purée once the texture is right, remembering that the salt pork and stock have already contributed seasoning. Transfer it to a heatproof bowl or shallow storage containers. Melt the reserved butter and brush it directly over the hot surface to prevent a skin, then cool promptly and cover. Refrigerate for up to 4 days, or freeze in useful portions. Stir gently when reheating, loosening with a spoonful of stock if needed. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose ripe, fleshy tomatoes when the market has them. Outside their season, weigh out 5 pounds (2.27 kg) of good canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juice and crush them yourself. An honest preserved tomato is better than a pale fresh one.
• •Use unsmoked salt pork, not smoked bacon. The pork is a quiet foundation of fat and savor, and smoke would announce itself through every sauce made from the purée.
• •The flour omission is not an optional variation. Flour belongs to Tomato Sauce (No. 29); this purée receives only a little stock and must gain its body from tomatoes cooked down slowly.
• •A food mill saves effort, but the fine sieve gives the canonical finish. Press while the mixture is warm and supple, then scrape the underside carefully. Much of the smoothest purée waits there.
• •Freeze the purée in 1-cup portions for braises and derivative sauces. Thaw it in the refrigerator, then bring it briefly to the boil while stirring before use.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the purée up to 4 days ahead. Cool it promptly, seal the surface with the reserved butter, cover, and refrigerate.
• •For longer storage, freeze the cooled purée in measured portions with a little headroom. It keeps well for about 3 months and can be reheated gently without losing its texture.
• •The pork, carrot, and onion may be cut a day ahead and kept separately covered in the refrigerator, leaving the actual cooking to one uninterrupted session.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 245g)