It is bursting with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibers. It reduces harmful cholesterol and helps with hypertension, it strengthens the heart and improves vision, in summer it boosts protection from UV rays, but for every gourmet among us, it is, above all, heavenly delicious, especially if it the local, freshly picked tomato from the fields of Northwestern Istria.
A tomato salad and salads with tomato, risottos, vegetarian, fish and meat dishes cooked in a pot or in the oven, spreads and many other recipes ask for the finest tomatoes. Some of you may notice that I did not mention that all time favorite… Tomato sauce. Why? Because this time I bring you one of the best, yet beautifully minimalist, recipes for tomato sauce (salsa).
Tomato Sauce
Blanch washed tomatoes and peel them. Dice and set aside. In a pot or in a deeper pan, heat some olive oil and saute the garlic. Make sure the garlic does not burn because it will turn bitter then. Add the diced tomatoes and cook over high heat to caramelize tomatoes. Then turn the heat down and cook over light hear until all the water from the tomatoes evaporates. At very the end, season with salt, and when the sauce is done you can add a little bit more olive oil, to taste.
Ingredients:
- 2 kg tomatoes; the more mature, the better. I prefer Roma tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes.
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Peperoncino, if you like a luscious peppery note to your sauce
The quality of ingredients is very important, especially in such a simple dish. Use Istrian olive oil, local tomatoes matured in the sun (as they will be sweeter and tastier for it) as well as locally grown garlic. I generally avoid sugar altogether, so I do not put any in my tomato sauce either. Instead, if I need the sweet flavor, I would go for red onions to create it.
