Pomarola con Verdure or Tomato Sauce with Vegetables
by Walter Bosstick
Story
Unlike the Northern and Southern Regions of Italy, the foundation of Tuscan cuisine is not a Pomodoro sauce. Instead, Tuscan cuisine is based upon the soffritto, a mixture of chopped red onions, celery, and carrots slowly sauteed over low heat for a period of time. This mixture is then mixed with tomatoes and used to dress cooked beans or as a foundation for soups and stews. The modern master of of this technique is Benedetta Vitali, a fierce defender of Florentine food traditions. Famously, she refused to serve pasta dishes in her Florentine restaurant, Cibreo, because she was adamant pasta was never a part of Tuscan culinary history. Regardless of Chef Vitali's opinion, this sauce is delicious over pasta! However, don't be afraid to go full Tuscan and pour some over beans baked with garlic and rosemary, or use it as a topping on crostini.
Ingredients
- 1 stalk Celery, minced
- 1 whole Red Onion, minced
- 1 whole Carrot, peeled and minced
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- 10 leaves Basil, torn
- 1 1/2 oz Unsalted butter
- 1 pinch Red Pepper Flakes, for finishing
- 1 lb Whole, peeled canned tomatoes (Recipe calls for 500 grams. This is about 2/3 of a 28 ounce can. Use the whole tomatoes to get this weight and leave their juice behind to get this weight. If the tomatoes don't give you this weight, add some juice.)
Steps
- 1. This pomodoro is a little more elaborate than the others and it starts by combining the diced red onion, carrots, celery, and olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. In this recipe, the vegetables should not become too brown but they must be fully cooked. Stir them frequently and watch them closely. If they are cooking too fast, add 1/3 cup of water or vegetable stock to the pan to slow up the cooking. When this has evaporated, the vegetable should have reached a light, golden brown color. If they are still too light, add another 1/3 cup of water and let it completely evaporate. This should take 15-20 minutes. Use the photo below as a guide to the color you are looking for.
3. Add the garlic and let it cook for about a minute.
4. Toss in the tomatoes and squash them with a fork. Then add the butter.
5. Cook for about 20 minutes, uncovered, over medium heat until the sauce has thickened. (Do the spatula test to check thickness).
6. Salt to taste and then remove from heat. Stir in the torn basil.
7. Dress pasta and garnish with parmigiana and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
Carrot, peeled and mincedTip: 1. You should use red onion for any Tuscan recipe calling for onion. The local onion around Tuscany is the heirloom, Florentine Long Red. It looks very much like a large, red scallion. 2. I always finish any pasta sauce with an additional tablespoon of butter. Pasta needs an additional fat to better adhere to the sauce. It will literally make the pasta dish get a shine. I always add my pasta to the saucenpsn to dress. You add the additional butter at this point. 3. It is a mystery why the Tiscan call their Pomodoro, a Pomarolo. The best explanagion I've heatd is that Pomarolo means Tomato plant in the Tuscan dialect. Can't swear to that though. 4. This sauce is enough for a pound of pasta that serves 6. An O Grano spaghetti would be wonderful..