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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 1, 2010 5:27:24 GMT
Feb 3, '10 -- Amending the thread to make it less limited. Please post your tomato sauces, bases, concentrates, sofritos, etc. here. Does this kind of thick, plain tomato sauce/ingredient have other names? I didn't know what to call it. The cooking method is the same as for cooking regular tomato sauce, except the end result is too heavy and assertive to use as is. I find that it's an excellent use for winter tomatoes -- the ones that are red and ripe, but not all that tasty. The cooking concentrates the tomato flavor, turning them into something good and useful. Here is one I made recently: one kilo tomatoes one medium onion three large cloves garlic chipotle chile(s) en adobo plus some of the liquid from the can oregano salt pinch of sugar Chop the onion and put it to saute in olive oil in a deep pot. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in fourths or sixths and drop them into a blender jar. (Put in only as much as your blender can handle at a time.) Add the garlic, roughly chopped, to the tomatoes in the jar, and the chipotle, then pulse the blender until all is evenly chopped almost to a coarse mush. Be careful not to liquefy them. Pout the tomatoes into the pot and raise the heat. Stir occasionally, then lower the heat when the mixture comes to a boil. When it's cooked down a bit, rub a healthy pinch of dried oregano between your palms and dust it into the sauce. At this point you may want to add a little sugar to reduce acidity, and the merest hint of cinnamon. Continue cooking on low heat until all trace of rawness is gone and the mixture is very, very thick. Unless you have an immediate use for the whole amount, I suggest freezing it in practical amounts, taking a jar from the freezer as needed. The day after I made this batch, I used some with pasta -- boiled seashell pasta, not thoroughly drained, to which I added a couple of tablespoons of the tomato base and stirred it through. I then folded in some smoked fish, drizzled on a little olive oil, ground in some black pepper, served some into a bowl which I then liberally sprinkled with minced parsley. I have some set aside to cook down with some fresh favas. The version I made above could be made more basic by leaving out the chipotle and reducing or eliminating the oregano. What are some other versions of this base, please, and some uses for it?
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Post by auntieannie on Feb 1, 2010 15:41:02 GMT
you could use a version without oregano as base for many Indian curries.
isn't the basic basic version "tomato concentrate"? if you have a tiny bit left over when you jar it, add to a buttered slice of bread. decadent.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 1, 2010 16:35:40 GMT
Could be "concentrate", Annie. Mmmm -- I did that, except with olive oil instead of butter. Oh, as a curry base -- yes! Would you think it worthwhile to create a base somewhat pre-flavored to be compatible with curries, or would it be better to season when the curry was made?
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Post by auntieannie on Feb 1, 2010 17:47:59 GMT
better to season afterwards. to ensure the curries don't all taste the same, even though we keep putting the same spices in... or at least I do, even though I try not to.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2010 14:37:12 GMT
I make tomato sauce with chopped onions, garlic, bell pepper and parsley, along with some bay leaves, salt and pepper.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 2, 2010 16:05:16 GMT
Sounds excellent, Kerouac, but are you referring to a finished sauce that can be put right on food, or a concentrate that will be used as an ingredient or base?
I see so many recipes that call for tomato paste as an ingredient, but you can tell it would remain harsh and acrid by the time the dish was supposedly done. What I'm wanting to develop is an all-purpose tomato concentrate (or base) that is also mellow enough not to need much longer cooking than every other ingredient in the dish.
The one in the OP is perfect as far as texture and "cookedness" goes, but has certain limitations due to the chiles and the oregano. What you're proposing would be a more flexible, sort of universal base, but what happens to the parsley when you cook it down to a concentrate?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2010 17:41:30 GMT
I always use some immediately and freeze the rest, just like a normal person would do. It is often used later with ground beef or chicken slivers in other dishes.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 2, 2010 23:24:06 GMT
So the answer is, "No, my version is not a tomato base", although it's undoubtedly a delicious sauce. You know, I could have sworn we had a very long tomato sauce thread, but I'm thinking that was back when several of us were on ttr. There is only one (1!) tomato sauce recipe in The Galley, Tilly's Slow-Roasted Tomato Sauce (Reply #547). If you and others wanted to post tomato sauce recipes on this thread, I'd be pleased to change the thread title.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2010 7:38:24 GMT
Urban people rarely make tomato base, because we do not often have 5 kilos of tomatoes to get rid of all at once.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 3, 2010 9:03:35 GMT
I don't know if you read the OP or not, but I used one kilo of tomatoes.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2010 9:12:19 GMT
Not worth the effort then!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 3, 2010 16:13:45 GMT
I don't make sauces from fresh tomatoes here, as they are so insipid in flavor. We have found some very good imported whole tomatoes, purees and crushed tomatoes which which to make my sauces and soups.
Fresh tomatoes go into such dishes as Huevos a la Mexicana, guacamole and eaten out of hand. They are not bad, just insipid. Seems strange, for one of the countries where tomatoes originated to grow such boring ones now. (At least in Michoacán.)
WikiPedia.org: "The tomato is native to South America. Genetic evidence shows that the progenitors of tomatoes were herbaceous green plants with small green fruit with a center of diversity in the highlands of Peru.[3][4] One species, Solanum lycopersicum, was transported to Mexico where it was grown and consumed by prehistoric humans. The exact date of domestication is not known. The first domesticated tomato may have been a little yellow fruit, similar in size to Cherry tomatoes,[citation needed] grown by the Aztecs of Central Mexico. Aztec writings mention tomatoes were prepared with peppers, corn and salt[citation needed]. The word tomato comes from the Aztec tomatl.
Many historians[who?] believe that the Spanish explorer Cortez may have been the first to transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe after he captured the Aztec city of Tenochtítlan, now Mexico City, in 1521. Others[who?] believe Christopher Columbus, an Italian working for the Spanish monarchy*, was the first European to take back the tomato, as early as 1493. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared in a herbal written in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who named it pomo d’oro, golden apple. Aztecs and other peoples in the region used the fruit in their cooking; it was being cultivated in southern Mexico and probably other areas by 500 BC. It is thought that the Pueblo people believed that those who witnessed the ingestion of tomato seeds were blessed with powers of divination.[5] The large, lumpy tomato, a mutation from a smoother, smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be direct ancestor of some modern cultivated tomatoes."
*That is SO funny!-DC
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 3, 2010 17:54:14 GMT
Amending the thread to make it less limited. Please post your tomato sauces, bases, concentrates, sofritos, etc. here.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2010 18:03:23 GMT
I have noticed when shopping with other people that just about everybody seems to buy ready made spaghetti/Italian inspired sauces in Paris at least. I have almost always made my own sauces and only buy that stuff for the most dire emergencies. I have to admit that the industrial stuff is probably more sophisticated in all of its 30 or so variations -- basil, olives, mushrooms, tarragon, capers, anchovies, ground beef, mussels, chives etc. etc. etc. -- than my own basic versions, but it is a personal pleasure for me to make sauce.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 3, 2010 18:19:45 GMT
Yes -- home sauce is one of those contemplative, long-simmering cooking experiences that is so satisfying.
I'm putting this hint from my son here, as it does constitute a recipe of sorts. I hasten to say that he is a really good cook, not someone who always relies on shortcuts. Come to think of it, it's the good cooks who can be trusted on shortcut hints, because they respect how the food should taste.
Anyway, he says that if you're making meatballs and don't have time to make sauce from scratch, to use canned tomato sauce. That's right -- not the fancier ones in jars, but the canned stuff. His recommended brand is Hunt's. He points out that what is basically wrong with ready-made sauces is that they are not mellow enough. However, the long simmering needed to cook the meatballs to the right point will also further cook and mellow the canned sauce. I've tried this several times, and it really works. Obviously you can tweak further with a little sugar or basil, mushrooms, etc., but the premise is sound.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2010 18:56:03 GMT
Errr... I have to admit that I almost always used canned tomato sauce or canned peeled tomatoes as a base. And sometimes, when I am making a meat sauce, I use a can of ratatouille or a can of piperade basque as a base (it is quite similar to ratatouille but with a little more pepper in it). It is a shortcut that saves an infinite amount of time, and it is also appropriate when cooking for one person, even if some can be saved in the freezer.
I have read repeatedly, and I would love confirmation of this, that canned tomatoes are absolutely the best way to eat tomatoes and have the most health benefits, far superior to raw fresh tomatoes, for example.
(I will add that tomatoes are the only vegetable about which this may be true -- every other vegetable is better fresh or frozen.)
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 3, 2010 23:17:46 GMT
It's the lycopene in canned, especially concentrated tomatoes, that's said to be healthy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LycopeneAnd I'd been thinking "lycopene" had something to do with werewolves. Nope; that's "lycanthrope". The way I've been using them lately, I ought to buy canned tomatoes by the case, with a discount.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 3, 2010 23:30:27 GMT
I don't make sauces from fresh tomatoes here, as they are so insipid in flavor. I find that it's an excellent use for winter tomatoes -- the ones that are red and ripe, but not all that tasty. The cooking concentrates the tomato flavor, turning them into something good and useful I really don't agree with your statement above. I do agree that tomatoes in Mexico are all too often disappointing, but as I said above, cooking redeems them. Once the water is cooked out, the tomato flavor and texture assert themselves. I think that is why Mexicans accept such wimpy tomatoes. Whereas you & I always buy fresh tomatoes with a view to enjoying them raw, all those housewives at the market are planning to cook them.
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Post by lagatta on Feb 4, 2010 0:43:33 GMT
Still, it is strange that they are so lacklustre.
Outside tomato season I always use tins - of tomato, not prepared sauces - to make sauces, bases, whatever. Almost never buy prepared sauces. They can also contain nasties like HFCS.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 4, 2010 1:35:02 GMT
I know I've mentioned this elsewhere, but when I first visited Mexico in the early 70s, I was astounded at how many different varieties of tomatoes there were. Now, it's overwhelmingly one single kind of plum tomato, occasionally varied with hothouse globe tomatoes. I'm sure these plum tomatoes -- called "saladet" -- were chosen for their "shippability" more than anything else.
Whether using cans, fresh, home-bottled, stolen ketchup packets, or Paul Newman's brand to start with .................... where are the recipes?
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Post by lagatta on Feb 4, 2010 1:55:17 GMT
Oh yes, that is true, this is the recipe thread.
No recipe tonight though I'll definitely provide some. Do we have a good "puttanesca", the sauce proverbially cooked by Neapolitan ladies of the evening for port denizens? (Though it could also be a good old sexist joke about spicy, salty, fishy things).
Does anyone else like fresh ginger grated into a plain tomato sauce with a bit of garlic? Yum. Don't make this too thick. Many sauces should just kiss the pasta, fish, whatever.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 4, 2010 5:18:41 GMT
I've always been convinced the joke was the name and the name was the joke. Surely the "it was quick and easy to make" story is a fabrication for cookbooks.
LaGatta -- I love ginger, but never ever thought of putting it into tomato sauce! I must try this.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 4, 2010 15:37:31 GMT
I don't make sauces from fresh tomatoes here, as they are so insipid in flavor. I find that it's an excellent use for winter tomatoes -- the ones that are red and ripe, but not all that tasty. The cooking concentrates the tomato flavor, turning them into something good and useful I really don't agree with your statement above. I do agree that tomatoes in Mexico are all too often disappointing, but as I said above, cooking redeems them. Once the water is cooked out, the tomato flavor and texture assert themselves. I think that is why Mexicans accept such wimpy tomatoes. Whereas you & I always buy fresh tomatoes with a view to enjoying them raw, all those housewives at the market are planning to cook them. That could well be the reason, although, IMO, the cooked food would taste even better if the raw tomatoes were more flavorful. But, by some amazing casualidad, I partially address that issue in my post, just a few hours ago, Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" mexkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/attack-of-killer-tomatoes.html
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 4, 2010 15:45:54 GMT
As a kind benefactor, I will bestow upon you the pizza sauce recipe I like. The blog version is more colorful and entertaining, I hope. I invite your comments there. Background details here: mexkitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/attack-of-killer-tomatoes.htmlHere, below, a promised recipe for a pizza sauce; adapted from The Vegetarian Epicure, Book 2, by Anna Thomas. (Yes, it's an expensive, out-of-print book.) I ramp it up the quantity in order to use the entire contents of the cans. 2 cups canned pureed tomatoes (Cidacos Tomates Triturados or better, Progresso Tomatoes Crushed in Puree) 1/2 cup tomato paste (case of 12, 12 oz cans available at Costco) 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes. (a can of S&W diced or Italian syle, for example. Or better, a drained and crushed can of Cirio Pomodori Pelati) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp or more orégano, crushed. (Mexican orégano is fine.) 1 tsp basil, crushed 1/4 tsp thyme (tomillo) dash of marjoram (mejorana. I leave it out.) dash of cinnamon (El toque especial. Just go easy. It shouldn't taste like a CinnaBon treat.) 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar, or red wine 1 tsp sugar, or too taste. Go easy on the sugar. You could even omit it. 2 or more cloves of garlic, crushed or minced. I add a Tbsp of olive oil and a few shakes of hot red pepper flakes. You can crush a dried red chlie in a molcajete. That is optional. Taste for seasoning (it will tend to be more concentrated when your pizzas bake), and espesacially for thickness. It's important that pizza sauce not be runny. Add more tomato paste if it needs thickening.
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Post by bixaorellana on Feb 5, 2010 4:21:39 GMT
Where are the cooking directions, please? You don't cook the tomato paste separately?
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Post by cristina on Feb 5, 2010 4:42:09 GMT
I don't have a recipe for a tomato concentrate, and have to admit that I am intrigued by the use of less flavorful tomatoes and their ability to develop flavor while cooking. I might have to experiment with this. But my favorite tomato sauce follows: 1/2 cup olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 6 garlic cloves, chopped (I like garlic, so you can adjust to your preference) 2 large cans San Marzano tomatoes, drained and crushed, (reserve the liquid) salt and pepper a big handful of fresh basil leaves,chopped roughly A big pinch of grated cardamom A pinch of sugar Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sautée until soft. Add the tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid and season with the cardamom, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Bring to a boil, stirring for a few minutes break up the tomatoes. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil and season again to taste. I like this sauce because not only does it taste good, hands on time is pretty reasonable which makes it a viable weekday option. I think seasonings are a real personal preference thing. Cardamom is my recent favorite and I am trying to find other ways to use it, since it isn't much a of a budget spice and I don't wish to waste it.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 5, 2010 11:04:30 GMT
Where are the cooking directions, please? You don't cook the tomato paste separately? An oversight on my part. I should have mentioned that it's not cooked, as it's made entirely with canned, cooked tomatoes. It's simply mixed well, and applied to the rolled out pizza crust. Then it cooks some more in the oven. (One more reason I hate writing out recipes. There's always some little detail to explain to someone, which to me is obvious. )
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2010 11:38:48 GMT
Does anybody here make sauces using vegetables other than tomatoes? I'm not sure what would actually qualify as a "sauce" but here for example, things like puréed stewed leeks are sometimes put on top of certain dishes, same thing for onions...
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Post by Don Cuevas on Feb 5, 2010 15:29:07 GMT
Does anybody here make sauces using vegetables other than tomatoes? I'm not sure what would actually qualify as a "sauce" but here for example, things like puréed stewed leeks are sometimes put on top of certain dishes, same thing for onions... I'll need to think on that one.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2010 18:10:15 GMT
I am thinking, too, because why the hell should tomatoes get all the glory? (as much as I love them -- I wouldn't want Bixa to think that I have something against this wonderful topic!)
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