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In previous posts, we have considered the main four sauces mères, grandes sauces, or classic “mother” sauces of French cuisine: bechamel, velute, espanyol and hollandese. In the same, it is time for the final representative of the – family tomato sauce (sauce tomate). It is created on the basis of tomatoes (thank you, captain obviousness) and acts as a starting point for dozens of other sauces, or petites sauces. Its value lies in its richness of taste, balance of acidity and sweetness. And flexibility, which is the ability to combine with meat, fish, vegetables and pasta.
History and place in cooking
Tomatoes did not appear in Europe until the 16th century, as they were only introduced from South America after the Columbus expeditions. But these representatives of the nightshade family gained recognition in cooking much later. In French gastronomy, tomato sauce took hold only in the 19th century, when Auguste Escoffier included it in the same «of the big five». Since then, it has become the basis for many classic dishes and sauce variations.
The sauce described by Escoffier is made with fresh, blanched and chopped tomatoes, fried pork belly (bacon), carrot, onion and thyme mirpois, with light meat broth and roux added for thickening.
Although it is worth paying tribute to historical justice and mentioning Italian cuisine, because it is quite difficult to imagine without tomato sauce. His first recipe was published under the title “Spanish tomato sauce” in the work of the Italian cook Antonio Latini in the work Lo Scalco alla Moderna (“Modern manager”), published in two volumes in 1692 and 1694, respectively.
And only in the 18th century, tomato sauce began to expand to the south of France, starting with Provence. And already the Provencal people who migrated to the north of the country began to spread tomatoes. But let's return to Italy once again. We learn from historical sources that the first mention of the use of tomato sauce together with paste appears in 1790 in the cookbook of the Roman cook Francesco Leonardi L'Apicio moderno.
Classic ingredients and preparation
Traditionally, tomato sauce is prepared as follows:
- chopped onions, carrots, sometimes celery (mirpois), fried in butter or olive oil, are used for the base
- tomatoes are needed fresh or canned, mashed to uniformity
- classically, the sauce is thickened with ru (a mixture of flour and butter), but modern versions often do without it
- bacon, ham, garlic, bay leaf, thyme are used as taste accents
- after stewing the ingredients, the sauce is wiped and brought to the desired thickness. If it comes out too thick –, it can be diluted with light meat broth.
The result is a thick and rich sauce with a rich aroma. It can be the basis or final accent in many dishes.
Derived sauces
Due to its versatility, tomato sauce has many “offspring”. Using it as a base, you can prepare many new sauces, in particular:
-
marinara: light sauce with the addition of olive oil, garlic and basil
- creole sauce: with onions, peppers, celery and spicy seasonings
- neapolitan: A classic of Italian cuisine based on tomatoes, olive oil and herbs (but the strangest thing is that Neapolitans themselves are surprised when they hear “Neapolitan sauce”, because they just call it tomato. It got the name “Neapolitan”, most likely, already from Italian migrants who carried their gastronomic culture to new countries in this way).
Where used
Tomato sauce – is a real station wagon. It is used as a base for pastes, lazany, in dishes with meat and poultry (stewed beef stew, chicken in sauce), in fish dishes (for example, cod in tomato sauce), as a base for pizza, in combination with vegetables (for example, in ratatouille or stuffed peppers)... That is, it can be safely argued that its power – is in simplicity, accessibility and the ability to change the character of a dish from tender to spicy. This is a real culinary “constructor” that makes the kitchen more diverse and interesting. Cook to your satisfaction!
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