Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •6-quart (5.7-liter) heavy Dutch oven or tall, thick-bottomed saucepan with a lid
• •Large fine-mesh sieve
• •Sturdy whisk and wooden spoon
• •Ladle and large heatproof bowl

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the foundation

   Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Set a heavy 6-quart pot over medium-low heat, add the salt pork and the 2 tablespoons of butter, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let the pork surrender its fat slowly until it looks translucent and nearly melted, with only the faintest gold at its edges. Do not crisp it; the pork is seasoning the sauce, not becoming a garnish.

2. 2

   Soften the mirepoix

   Add the carrots, onions, bay leaf, and thyme. This is the mirepoix, the diced aromatic base beneath the tomato. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring and scraping the pot floor, until the vegetables soften and the onions turn translucent. A little color is welcome, but dark browning would pull the sauce away from its mellow character.

3. 3

   Cook the roux blond

   Sprinkle in the flour and stir until every grain is coated with fat. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until it becomes a roux blond, a lightly browned flour-and-fat base, and smells faintly nutty rather than raw. Stop when it only begins to color. A dark roux would taste strong and sacrifice the thickening power this sauce needs.

4. 4

   Add tomato and stock

   Add the crushed tomatoes in three portions, stirring each one thoroughly into the roux blond, then pour in the fonds blanc in a steady stream while whisking. Add the salt, sugar, pepper, and crushed garlic. If the sauce seizes into floury lumps, take it off the heat and whisk in one ladleful of stock until smooth before continuing. Ça se rattrape. Any stubborn small lumps will be caught by the final sieve.

5. 5

   Bring to the boil

   Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a full boil while stirring across the entire pot floor. Once bubbles rise evenly, cover the pot and move it into the oven. Bringing it properly to the boil first activates the flour and ensures the oven receives one hot, unified sauce rather than a cold mixture that separates before it settles.

6. 6

   Cook slowly covered

   Cook, covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through. The sauce should move at a quiet tremble and deepen to a mellow brick red, with the sharp raw-tomato smell replaced by something round and faintly sweet. If it has caught on the bottom, do not scrape the dark layer into the sauce; transfer the clean portion to another pot and finish the cooking there.

7. 7

   Pass through a sieve

   Remove the bay leaf and thyme, then pass the hot sauce through a large fine-mesh sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing firmly with the back of a ladle. The old kitchen used a tammy and a pair of strong arms; the fine sieve is the honest home equivalent. Press enough tomato and vegetable pulp through to give the sauce body, leaving the pork fibers, skins, seeds, and coarse aromatics behind.

8. 8

   Boil and finish

   Return the strained sauce to a boil and stir constantly for 3 to 5 minutes, until it falls from the spoon in a broad, glossy ribbon. If it is thin, continue boiling gently; if it is too tight, loosen it with a little unsalted stock. Use it at once, or divide it among shallow heatproof containers and rub the softened butter directly over the surface to prevent a skin. The Sauce Tomate is ready. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use truly ripe fresh tomatoes when the market has them. Out of season, good canned whole tomatoes are the honest choice; weigh 5 pounds with their juices and crush them by hand. A preserved tomato picked ripe will give you more than a pale fresh one ever could.
• •Salt pork means unsmoked, salt-cured pork belly. Smoked bacon changes the whole sauce, so save it for another pot. If your salt pork is heavily crusted with salt, brush the loose salt away but do not soak out the character the formula depends upon.
• •Use unsalted fonds blanc because the salt pork and measured salt already carry the seasoning. A gelatin-rich stock gives the sauce a finer gloss, but a careful cook with a modest, well-flavored stock will still make a splendid batch. Technique first, always.
• •The source's purée de tomates is a distinct variation: omit the flour and reduce the fonds blanc to 1 cup (240 ml / about 240 g). It will be more purely tomato-led and less firmly bound, so do not make that change inside Sauce Tomate.
• •A fine-mesh sieve gives the closest home result to a tammy. An immersion blender leaves seeds and pork fibers behind and beats air into the sauce, making it paler, so pass it properly. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Sauce Tomate is made for advance work. Cool it promptly in shallow containers, cover, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat it over gentle heat, stirring from the pot floor, and loosen it with unsalted stock if it has tightened.
• •Freeze the cooled sauce in useful portions for up to 3 months, leaving room for expansion. Thaw it in the refrigerator and bring it to a brief boil while stirring before use.
• •The vegetables and salt pork can be cut a day ahead and kept separately in the refrigerator. Once the roux blond begins, have the crushed tomatoes and measured stock beside the stove; that is the moment the sauce wants your full attention.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)