A1 World's Best Tomato Sauce
This recipe is based on the one from Jean Christoph Novelli's grandmother Louise's recipe. He call's it "The Most Amazing Tomato Sauce on the planet" I agree. This is not the exact recipe (I tweaked it very slightly and made some educated guesses on the amounts of various ingredients but based upon the taste I believe it is probably very close.
Yield
4 servingsPrep
5 minCook
25 minReady
30 minIngredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | pound |
tomatoes
very fresh, ripe |
|
| 2 | teaspoon |
sea salt
to taste |
|
| 1 | each |
star anise
whole |
*
|
| 1 | each |
vanilla bean
|
*
|
| 2 | cloves |
garlic
roughly smashed |
|
| 3 | tablespoons |
olive oil, extra-virgin
to taste |
|
| 1 | teaspoon |
sugar
|
|
| 1 | bunch |
basil
fresh |
*
|
| 1 | each |
bay leaves
|
*
|
Ingredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| 907.2 | g |
tomatoes
very fresh, ripe |
|
| 1E+1 | ml |
sea salt
to taste |
|
| 1 | each |
star anise
whole |
*
|
| 1 | each |
vanilla bean
|
*
|
| 2 | cloves |
garlic
roughly smashed |
|
| 45 | ml |
olive oil, extra-virgin
to taste |
|
| 5 | ml |
sugar
|
|
| 1 | bunch |
basil
fresh |
*
|
| 1 | each |
bay leaves
|
*
|
Directions
If you are not in a hurry take your time, the slower you cook down the tomatoes the more flavor you will build into your sauce.
Heat a saucepan over medium heat.
Add tomatoes and sprinkle with sea salt.
Adjust heat to slowly cook down the tomatoes. The slower you cook down the tomatoes the more flavor will develop.
After about 5 minutes add the star anise, bay leaf and vanilla bean (split and scraped).
Once the tomatoes have begun to soften help break them down using a potato masher.
Add garlic that has been roughly smashed with your hand or with the flat of your knife. Add the sugar.
If you taste and think you have added a bit too much sugar you can add just a touch of balsamic vinegar to balance out the sweetness.
Continue cooking slowly.
Once you have reached your desired consistency add the olive oil.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Add the basil, leave the leaves whole for a rustic look and feel, mix in and allow to wilt.
Serve.
