I'm making Chicken Cacciatore and one of the pre-requisites is to make
the tomato sauce first.

Katie bar the door and call me Sophia.
This is the best tomato sauce I've ever made. OK, it's the only tomato
sauce I've ever made but dang it, it is outfreakingstanding.

It calls for onion, carrot, thyme, garlic, olive oil and whole canned
tomatoes.
http://i33.tinypic.com/2hcoylu.jpg

Cook the onion until soft and light golden brown. Then add the thyme,
and carrot.
http://i37.tinypic.com/x1hjc0.jpg

When the carrot is soft add the tomatoes with their juice.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2ziao40.jpg

I decided the tomato can needed rinsing out. Heaven forbid I use water
in such a sauce so I used red wine, just enough to rinse out the can.
http://i33.tinypic.com/28vul9c.jpg

And added that to the already wonderful sauce.
http://i36.tinypic.com/19lcp2.jpg

Simmer the sauce until it is the consistency of hot cereal.
http://i38.tinypic.com/6eequo.jpg

I suppose if you wanted a smooth sauce you could run it through a food
mill.

This is one of the ingredients in the Chicken Cacciatore that is now
simmering on my stove and making the cottage smell so good.

Getting ready to cook some pasta and have dinner.

Basic Tomato Sauce
makes 4 cups

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 medium carrot, finely shredded
two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes
salt

1. In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the
onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, 8 to 10
minutes. Add the thyme and carrot and cook until the carrot is soft,
about 5 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, with their juice, and bring to a boil, stirring
often. Lower the heat and simmer until as thick as hot cereal, about
30 minutes. Season with salt. This sauce can be refrigerated for up to
1 week or frozen for 6 months.

Mario Batali

And that's that.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 10/11