Dish of California Urgent Pasta Sauce
(click to enlarge)

California Urgent Sauce


California
Makes
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 cups
***
2-1/2hrs
Yes		 Delicious! But why urgent?   Urgent is when I have a whole lot of Tomatoes on the counter getting over-ripe, and no recipe scheduled to use them.




2-1/2
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5
2
3
3/4
3
2
6
2
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1-1/2
8
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1
1/2
1/2
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#
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oz
oz
oz
in
oz



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T
oz
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t
t
t
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Tomatoes, ripe (1)  
-- Aromatics
Onions
Carrot
Celery
Ginger
Anaheim Chili
Bay Leaves
Parsley sprigs
Thyme sprigs
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Olive Oil ExtV
Tomato Sauce (2)
-- Seasonings
Salt
Pepper
Chili Flake (3)
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Prep   -   (1.1 hrs if all hand chopped)
  1. Scald TOMATOES 1 minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water. Slice in half lengthwise, core and peel skin. Set each half down on its flat side and slice crosswise as thin as you can, then lengthwise. Then chop them very small, half the batch at a time. See also Seeds.
  2. Chop ONION fine. Do not use a processor - they will be bitter.
  3. Peel CARROT and cut into very thin, narrow strings. Cut the strings crosswise very fine. For CELERY, do the same as for Carrots. Mix all with Onions.
  4. Slice GINGER very thin, then into threads, and chop the threads fine.
  5. Blast ANAHEIM CHILI black with your Kitchen Torch and brush off skin under running water. Cut into thin strips, and cut the strips very fine.
  6. Mix all Aromatics items together.
Run   -   (1-1/2 hrs)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (3-1/2 qts is good), heat Olive Oil over moderately high flame, and fry Aromatics mix stirring very often until they start to color.
  2. Stir in Tomatoes and bring to a fast simmer uncovered. When most of the liquid has evaporated, cover tightly and simmer slowly for about an hour until Tomatoes are very soft, but make sure there is adequate liquid (see Cooking Tomatoes).
  3. Stir in Tomato Sauce and bring back to a simmer. If your tomatoes are deficient, or you want a smoother sauce, use 2 cans.
  4. Pull out Herb Stems and Leaves. Stir in Seasonings to taste.
  5. In an air-tight container, this will keep about 5 days in the fridge. If you need longer, just bring back to a simmer and repackage.
NOTES:

  1. Tomatoes:

      These need to be good tasting Tomatoes, and a bit too ripe for salads. Here in Southern California we can get Fresno Tomatoes from some produce markets. These ar much better than supermarket tomatoes.

  2. Tomato Sauce:

      This is to make up for the poor taste quality of the tomatoes we can buy. In Italy they use Tomato Paste, but this is better. My favorite is Faraon Spanish Style, in a convenient 8 oz can, but other very simple sauces will also work. If your tomatoes just don't make the grade, use 2 cans.

  3. Chili Flake:

      How can it be California without at least some chili heat? I suggest our California Chili Sprinkle, which is very tasty but not very hot - otherwise, see our Chili Powders / Flake page.

  4. Seeds:

      Just about every French and Italian recipe will tell you to seed your tomatoes so they won't make your sauce bitter. This is total bullpucky! The seeds do no such thing, even in Italy. This must be an attitude left over from the Victorian era, when people just did not eat seeds. Proof: the Italians are very proud of their canned tomatoes - even though they have been badly beaten by California Central Valley tomatoes in every properly conducted blind tasting. These have the seeds in them, yet they are not bitter, perhaps a touch blah, but not bitter. By seeding tomatoes, you will lose a lot of the juice that surrounds the seeds, where much of the tomato's flavor resides. Don't do it.

  5. Cooking Tomatoes:

      In India and West Africa they fry tomatoes until almost dry, "until the oil starts to separate". This is supposedly to to rid them of their "bitter flavor". I don't know what they're using for tomatoes in those regions, but I've never detected any "bitter flavor" in ours, and cooking them that dry totally destroys their wonderful fresh tomato flavor. Don't do it.

  6. Comments:

      Why don't I use a food processor for chopping the Tomatoes? By time a food processor has chopped stuff evenly, it's chopped it too fine. A tomato sauce that's chopped too fine lacks textural interest, and splatters without mercy when simmering. You can use your Mini-Prep for the Carots, Celery, and Anaheim Pepper if you want.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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