Gruesome Cooking and Passato di Pomodoro

I went to a play tonight at Barnard College. It was the play Thyestes by the Roman, Seneca, performed in Latin with subtitles projected on a screen behind the action. In many ways it reminded me of Titus Andronicus for the simple fact that the consumption of humans as food plays a large part in a plot centered on revenge and the destruction of a dynastic line - all   resulting as consequences of the sins of a father flowing down generation to generation. Whether it's in a pie or in a soup makes no difference to me. It was all pretty gruesome to many in the audience. But the play itself was terrific and it was all done quite tastefully. This was a four-night run - ALL of it sold out - performed by future Greek and Latin scholars whose Latin flowed mellifluously throughout the entire five-act play with Greek chorus and dancers and some pretty wild musical accompaniment! 

Anyway, what I really wanted to write about here was Passato di Pomodoro or Tomato Conserva. In plain English, home made and jarred tomato sauce to be used as a base for any variety of sauces for pasta, etc. 

Passato is best made in the late summer when tomatoes are definitely at their peak and in great abundance. However, you can always make a sauce in great quantities in the winter with boxes of cherry tomatoes or canned San Marzano plum tomatoes. It all gets passed through a food mill after the first cooking, only to go on the stove a second time to thicken and draw most of the moisture out of the sauce. The goal is a dense sauce with plenty of rich, tomato flavor.

The process can take two days so be prepared to set aside some time in order to achieve exactly what you want. 

Ball jars or even recycled jam jars can be used but must be sterilized with boiling water before filling them with your passato. 

Passato di Pomodoro

For Cherry Tomatoes*:

5 tbl. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

6 boxes cherry tomatoes (I prefer to use only red as the yellow and orange tomatoes are full of liquid which takes forever to evaporate, however, if you do use a combination of the three, the flavor is rather amazing).

8-10 basil leaves (cut in chiffonade)

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large pot (about 8 quarts)

Saute the onion and the garlic until translucent

Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and raise the heat to high. Cover for 5 minutes and let the tomatoes come to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to a simmer and cook down for about 45-60 minutes. You want a thick sauce.

* for San Marzano or canned peeled tomatoes, you'll need anywhere from 6-8 pounds. The same recipe above applies to both types of conserva.

Pass the tomatoes through a food mill with a fine holed blade. If you don't have the time or the fortitude to work at a food mill for a long while, a food processor - or a VitaMix or regular blender - is the next best thing. 

After you have passed the tomatoes through the mill, take some olive oil and heat in a pan and add 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions and 3 cloves minced garlic and repeat the saute process exactly as before. Add the passato and bring to the boil again and turn down to a simmer and cook for about an hour, stirring frequently and watching the heat to ensure nothing burns or sticks to the bottom of the pan. If you scorch the sauce it will be bitter and will taste pretty awful, which means you'll have to start all over again so beware!

At this point, you may add the basil chiffonade. After the sauce has cooked down at least 1/3 of what you originally started with, one half is preferable so it's thick, start filling your jars but leave about 1/2 inch at the top. Make sure the jars are clean and close them immediately after filling with the tomato. If you prefer, you may add a whole basil leaf to the jar before closing.

Place the jars in a large stockpot and immerse them with water. Put on the stove on high heat and bring to  boil. Turn the heat down to the simmer and let stand on the heat for about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the entire pot to cool before you remove the jars. Dry the jars and store them in a cool dark place and use them according to your needs.