Since its domestication in Mesoamerica, the tomato has spread all over the world and become a vital and necessary food in almost every culture. And every culture has a tomato sauce.
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Tomato sauces around the world are pretty much made in the same way: Aromatics and spices/herbs are sweated in oil or ghee, then tomatoes are added and the sauce cooks down, evaporating water. And this is where tomato passata comes in. It saves a bunch of steps
That’s what I did for my recent version of ravioli casserole. First, I sweated some green onion. My aunt who married into an Italian family told me once that was her secret ingredient. It should be only the whites, but I had bought pre diced, and I threw them all in
After the aromatics sweated for a bit and got fragrant, I added garlic, pepper flakes, anchovy paste (my secret ingredient), and tomato paste. Let that cook for a few minutes to open up the flavor of the tomato paste. I also added some Knorr’s, for an MSG umami boost.
Then I added the following tomato product, and simmered until it was the thickness I wanted.
As you can see, I prefer to use tomato passata instead of canned tomatoes. Is there a difference? Yes, in a few ways. First, passata is usually jarred or in a carton like stocks. This is because it is less cooked than canned. Passata has a brighter, fresher flavor, closer to raw tomatoes. Next, passata is pretty much free of any seeds or skin. If you look inside your cans of diced or pureed tomatoes, you see seeds, and even skin. Passata translates to “passed through” as it is always sieved to get the smoothest puree.
Why do I buy passata? Why do people buy canned tomatoes?
Convenience There are a lot of extra steps to making sauce from fresh tomatoes, plus the simmering time to reduce liquid is also much longer than if you use canned.
But making it at home, while a lot of steps, is pretty easy.
This is a short video of an Italian family that grows their own tomatoes, making passata for sale and for family consumption:
Now, if you’re not a nonna that has generations to help prep hundreds of pounds of tomatoes, here’s how to do it at home without having to put it through the canning process of sanitizing jars and then putting the full jars into water to seal them:
As you can see, the passata freezes well, and is good for months. Now unless you have a ton of freezer room, making enough in August to last until next tomato harvest season would require the full canning process. Hence passata. The top recommended passata brands are Cento and Mutti. But one of the most important things to look out for is the ingredients. Look for tomato product that is only tomatoes and salt, and sometimes juice and puree. There are quite a few brands, even “top” brands, that add citric acid, or calcium chloride and other such preservatives. this can give the tomatoes a metallic taste.
And a bonus for if you decide to make your own passata. You can reduce an amount of the passata by over ¾ and you get tomato paste. If you do it on the stove, constant stirring is needed so it doesn’t stick and burn. OR, you can reduce it a little, then spread it out on lined baking sheets and put it in a 200-300 degree oven for like 3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes or so. As it reduces, combine trays into one tray. 5 ounces of fresh tomato passata will make one ounce of tomato paste. Add to ice cube trays and freeze.
And once you have your homemade passata and tomato paste, the possibilities are endless—curries, pasta sauces, soups, stews, you name it.
And of course, the French have to make a mother sauce out of tomatoes.
I know, right? How bougie.
And with today being Valentine’s day, with passata you can create an amazing meal for your partner that is guaranteed to get you l-l-l-l-ots of compliments.
As for me, I’m treating myself this Valentine’s day. See, for the longest time the bake function in my oven was broken. I could only broil or use the range burners. I didn’t tell my landlady for reasons. But I finally did, and instead of a guy coming and replacing the igniter or otherwise fixing it, I got a brand new stove. Check it out:
Nice and basic.
So to break the oven in, I have a two bone rib roast I’m going to fix as a Valentine to myself.
So tonight’s question is…
Do you have a special “date night” meal you make for your partner, if you have one? Does your partner make it for you? Or what was the most special/luxurious/enchanting date night meal you ever had?
Fill the comments with love stories.
Dining and Cooking