italian Tomato sauces

In people’s mind, tomato sauce is so linked with Italy that many are suprised to learn that until 1700, no tomatoes where used in Italian food. For that was when the new «Golden Apple» from america was finally accepted by Europeans. The southern Italian and the Spanish where the first to embrace it, while the English continued to belive it was poisonous for another 100 years.

Of cource, there are many kinds of tomatoes, and at least as many ways of making a tomato sauce. The soffritto or base for the sauce is very important, as it determens the ultimate flavour, and it will ofen be matched to the type of pasta, occation or mood.  Some cooks use only onion in the soffritto, while some add finely chopped garlic. Other slice the garlic for a stronger taste, or infuse the oil with a whole garlic clove for a more subtile flavour. Sone add celery and carrot, then pass the sauce through a mouli for a smooth velvety and quit elegant sauce; other prefer to melt  an anchovy into the oil and include chilli and capers. for extra pungency, or add chopped pancetta or lardo to give the sauce a rich savoury note. And then there are herbs to consider: parsley, basil or thyme, added at the beginning or at the end of the cooking time. Some finish the sauce with a drop of olive oil. others with a knob of butter. Some use parmesan; others don’t. Then there are the cooking time: short for a fresher, more acidic taste; or longer, for a more traditional, redused sauce.

her i show you some of my favourite tomato sauces, but i want you to feel free to improvise – just as they would in Italy – to make them your favourites.

• Pasta al pomodoro – pasta (usally spaghetti) with tomato sauce – is probably the most eaten dish in the whole of IOtaly, from the small islands south of Sicily to the montain villages perched in the Alps Wonderfully simple and very tasty, it couuldn’t be easier Make the sauce while the pasta is cooking. When the pasta is al dente. drain it and, while it is still steaming, thoss it with the tomato sauce, and there you have it. You will soon understand why are addicted to pasta al pomodoro