Mario Batali's Basic Tomato Sauce

Recipe #1: Mario Batali's Basic Tomato Sauce 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
• 1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
• 2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
• Spaghetti 

My mother taught me how to cook tomato sauce. I remember it because it was a bittersweet expierence. I was 18 years old and my parents were getting divorced. They had been separated for many months but the news of a divorce meant imminent change for the household. Sure, I was sleeping in the basement, -as I gave my mother my bed to sleep in during those uncomfortable months when she refused to sleep in the same room as my father,  -but this was different. Boxes were being filled with her belongings. Pictures were coming off the walls. Cups were being put into bubble wrap. Life as we all knew it was changing. It was around this time that I realized I need to start cooking for myself, yet I didn't know how to cook the one dish any self respecting italian knew how to make: Tomato Sauce. I grabbed a pen and paper and asked my Mom how to make sauce. I don't know if it was the onions or that maybe it had hit her that she was moving away but as she taught me the recipe she began to cry. I'll never forget that time I spent with her in that kitchen. It would be the last time she made me sauce.

This recipe is not my mother's sauce! 

This recipe is so minimal that it almost scares me. Gone are the basil and the yellow onions I knew so well. Here I find myself looking for carrots of all things! This recipe actually comes from Mr. Batali's very cool iPhone app. Go and download it. It costs money, but there are a lot of great recipes and videos on there. You will use it a whole lot. Here's how the app looks: 

Directions:

In a saucepan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown. 

Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more.

Take the tomatoes out of the cans and into a bowl. Clean your hands and start squashing the tomatoes. Try to squash them until they are pulverized.

Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Finished Product:

I went over to Eataly (Mario Batali's Italian grocery market in the Flatiron district) and picked up some freshly made spaghetti and I am so happy I did. Freshly made pasta has no equal. 

One of my issues with this recipe is the hand crushing of the tomatoes. Sure, everytime I squash a tomato in my hand I can't help but think that this is what my great grandmother was doing to her tomatoes back in Sicily. The only problem is I'm not able to make them as pureed as I would like. The end result is that the sauce is watery and lumpy. It's not a terrible thing, but it's not my Mom's sauce. 

That being said, it's an easy and fast recipe that tastes authentic to Italy. Next time I would like to add some basil and use yellow onions like how my Mom taught me. 

Leftovers: The sauce holds up really well after being refrigerated for a couple of days.