Tomato Sauce (modern light version)
1 Piece of celery rib (a couple of inches long)
8 Plum tomatoes (San Marzano)
Description
This is the modern variation of the classic Artusi’s sauce. It is perfect when we need to save it and use it further on, but also whenever we need a light tomato sauce to be seasoned as we like. There’s no salt or oil in it and herbs like basil or parsley will be added at the last minute. Adding a dash of fresh Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, a pinch of salt, some freshly ground pepper and a few basil leaves, will make it ready for any type of pasta.
Note: the sauce is already cooked so, if we have to use it after refrigeration, just heat it up moderately otherwise it will taste heavy like American pizza where the tomato is cooked twice.
Directions
Chop the onion, the celery and the tomatoes in big chunks. Put them into a pot at a very low temperature and let it cook with a lid on. Once in a while we will have to stir the sauce adding a tablespoon of water if it tends to stick. Depending on quantity, it should be ready in about 45 minutes. When done, use a foodmill and keep grinding till there’s only the tomato skin left in it (make sure to scrape everything from the bottom of the mill). The sauce is then ready to be saved in the refrigerator, stored in the freezer or to be used straight away adding salt, pepper, few broken basil leaves and a touch of fresh Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.