Salsa di Pomodoro
Traditional Italian Tomato Sauce

 

About this recipe:

Though technically the Italian word for “tomato,” pomodoro literally means golden apple. Salsa di Pomodoro, emerging from Italy in the 16th century, was originally made from yellow tomatoes—the first varieties brought to Europe.

The famous red “San Marzano” tomato is now the gold standard sauce tomato of Italy. San Marzanos are a variety of thick fleshed sauce tomato often called “plum” or “Roma” tomatoes. Our Midnight Romas are a great sauce tomato, but we make our pomodoro sauce with a variety of tomatoes balancing flavors, producing a thick, crave-worthy sauce bursting with robust tomato flavor.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 9 Midnight Romas, or any Roma/Plum Variety (~1.5-lb)

  • 6 Pink Boars, or any Round Salad Variety (~1.5-lbs)

  • 1 pt Yellow Esternias, or any Sweet Cherry/Grape Variety (~1-lb)

  • 1 Bunch Basil Leaves (about 1 cup)

  • 1 Small Yellow Onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)

  • 4 Large Garlic Cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

  • 1 Tablespoon Sugar (optional)

Directions:

Remove Basil leaves and discard the stems. Reserve about 8-12 of the smallest basil leaves for garnish. Finely chop the remaining leaves.

Heat Olive Oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until tender and translucent, about five minutes.

While onions are cooking, wash the tomatoes, and use a paring knife to remove the stems ends from the Pink Boar and Midnight Roma Tomatoes. The cores are very small mostly tender, so very little has to be removed from the stem end. Rough chop the tomatoes and place them in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Pulse to break them down, then run the processor on full speed for 20-30 seconds to purée the tomatoes. Work in batches so you don’t overload your food processor. Pour the puréed tomatoes into the pot with the onions, and increase the heat to medium-high, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes come to a rolling boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce has reduced. As the sauce sits unstirred, the heavier tomato pulp sinks and the thinner, watery tomato liquid moves to the top. As the sauce cooks there will be less and less of the thinner liquid. When only a little thin liquid remains at the top of the pot (about 20 minutes), add the garlic, chopped basil, and salt.

Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to simmer, stirring a bit more frequently until the sauce has become thick and the garlic has become tender and starts to fall apart when stirred.

Taste and stir in up to a Tablespoon of sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce (the yellow tomatoes typically add enough sweetness for our palates, but everyone has a different preference).

If you prefer a smoother sauce, re-blend to your desired consistency.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve Salsa di Pomodoro with your favorite pasta. Pomodoro should be smooth and almost creamy in texture, and clings well to just about any pasta shape. We love it on long, chewy noodles like bucatini and spaghetti, But it also fills the cracks and crevices of fusilli and rotini beautifully.

It is best served with a healthy grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano. Parmigiano-Reggiano is a Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) for cow’s milk cheese produced exclusively in central Italy, and aged at least 12 months. It’s the best! You can substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano with another Parmesan cheese or aged hard cheese like Grana Padano, but pick a high quality variety, it will make all the difference. I like a good 24 month aged, raw milk cheese.