My Grandmother Maria´s Tomato Salsa

My grandmother Maria Agnello´s philosophy was that many personal faults and shortcomings could be forgiven, if you knew how to make a good tomato sauce. She taught this recipe to my mother.

Tomato salsa is a Southern Italian staple and the best known of the Italian pasta sauces. This is a Neapolitan salsa pomodoro, a marinara sauce with tomatoes, basil, garlic and onion, that my grandmother Maria taught my mother, so that she could make it for my father.

The ingredients:

50 ml. olive oil

1.5 kilo seasonally ripe tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, chopped into centimeter squares

1 large onion- finely chopped

3 cloves of crushed garlic

Fresh oregano

1 dec. chopped basil

2 bay leaves

2 dl. water or vegetable stock

Add extra water or vegetable stock depending on the cooking time.

Salt to taste

An alternative to fresh tomatoes is, 1 kg canned San Marzano tomatoes and 500g, tomato passata.

The Procedure:

Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry them until they are soft. Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. Salt as needed.

To make a meat sauce, cube 1 kg. stew beef, spareribs and pork.  Add them to the sauce with an additional 2 dl. water or beef stock. Cook slowly together for about one and a half hours or until the meat is tender.

Use the same procedure for meatballs, but add 2dl extra stock or water and cook for about 30 minutes in the sauce.

Do as the Italians. The pasta with tomato salsa is served as the first course, sprinkled with grated pecorino or parmesan cheese. The meat that was cooked in the sauce is always served after the pasta, as the second course.