Tuscan Style Tomato Sauce Recipes

TUSCAN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Spray a medium nonstick saucepan with cooking spray; heat over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir about 5 min or until tender.
• Stir in tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, oregano, rosemary and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 6-10 min or until it has reached the desired consistency is reached - stirring occasionally.

TUSCAN-STYLE TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• 1) Wash the tomatoes in cold water. Cut them in half lengthwise. Place in a heavy saucepan (I use an All Clad sauce pan, the tomatoes should fill no higher than 1/2 the height of the pan), COVER, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. (If using canned tomatoes, ignore this step and start at step #3 with 4 cups of canned tomatoes with their juice) 2) Meanwhile, put 3-4 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a small sauté pan, place it on medium heat and sauté the carrots for 10 minutes. (The goal here is to get them to soften up a bit before added to the sauce to make it easier to pass through the food mill later. If you have an "industrial strength" food mill, this step is not necessary, proceed straight to step #3). 3) Add the carrots, onion, salt (I recommend 11⁄2 teaspoons for this quantity, but this needs to be adjusted for personal taste and health considerations accordingly) and sugar and cook at a steady simmer UNCOVERED, for 30 minutes. 4) Purée everything through a food mill into fresh pan (or transfer the sauce to another pan or bowl and purée it back into this saucepan), using the disc with the smallest holes. This is the most arduous step, but it's important to use the right disc to remove the skin and seeds, and you want to end up with no more than 1⁄2 cup of vegetable matter left in the food mill to maximize the flavor of the sauce. Make sure and scrape off the bottom of the disc with a spatula to get all of the puréed vegetables. Get the kids to help if your arms get tired! This step takes about 10-15 minutes. 5) Add the remaining olive oil (what wasn't used to sauté the carrots) to the sauce and cook UNCOVERED for an additional 15 minutes. Taste and correct for salt. Note: This sauce is well suited for most kinds of pasta, and can be used on top of Italian style meatloaf with great results. If frozen, defrost and simmer lightly, UNCOVERED, for just 10 minutes.

TUSCAN MEAT SAUCE

Steps:

• Finely chop the onion, celery, carrot and parsley.
• In a frying pan on medium heat, heat up the two tablespoons of olive oil, add the chopped ingredients and allow them to soften.
• Add the meat and mix everything together and cook over a gentle flame until the meat has changed color.
• Add the tomato purée or ripe, diced tomatoes. (Less tomato lets the meat flavor come through strongly; more tomato gives a more 'blended taste').
• Simmer gently for half an hour and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
• If the mixture is too dry add a little more olive oil or tomato.
• Never add water.
• Cook the pasta, drain and pour into warm a bowl.
• Add the meat sauce, stir, and serve. Parmesan cheese is optional.
• Note:.
• You can make this sauce substituting mushrooms for the meat: about 6 oz. fresh mushrooms or 1 oz. of dried porcini mushrooms (soaked for 1 hour).
• Both these sauces are excellent with pasta and polenta.
• Serves 4 - 6.

TUSCAN WHITE BEANS IN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Place beans in a large pot. Cover with water and stir in baking soda. Soak for 8 to 12 hours.
• Rinse beans and return to the pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender yet firm to the bite, about 25 minutes. Drain beans, reserving the water, and set aside.
• Heat the same pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Saute garlic and sage in the hot oil until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add drained beans. Stir and let the beans absorb the aroma of the garlic and sage. Add tomato sauce. Gently stir and simmer until the beans are soft but not mushy, 10 to 15 minutes. Use reserved cooking water to keep the sauce from burning, but the sauce should be thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.