The perfect marrying of two Italian tomato sauces, Pomodoro and Mariana, uses whole can San Marzano with the genius addition of all season cherry tomatoes to liven things up.
28ozSan Marzano Tomatoes1 Can Pulverized or Smooshed
1tspKosher Salt
1/2tspChili FlakesOptional
1pinchSugarOptional
1tbspolive oilextra virign
Instructions
Chop or grate shallots and garlic. Set Aside.
Halve cherry tomatoes and taste one. If they're a bit lacking in the flavor department, lightly salt them and maybe add a tiny pinch of sugar and let them hang out while you're prepping the canned tomatoes.
Depending on your sauce texture preferences, you can either dump the canned tomatoes into a bowl and squoosh them with your hands, or alternatively, blitz them with an immersion stick blender or food processor. We usually immersion blend them very briefly.
Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add chili flakes (if using). Once flakes begin to dance, add shallots and 3/4 of cherry tomato halves. Saute over medium heat, stirring to ensure flakes and shallots do not brown, or worse, burn.
Once cherry tomatoes have softened, Add garlic and saute for only 30-45 seconds or until fragrant. Do not brown.
Add squooshed or blitzed canned tomatoes and stir, adding 1/2 the amount of salt. Cook over low-medium heat for 13-16 minutes or until canned tomatoes have darkened slightly and the sauce's volume has reduced by an inch or so. Taste for seasoning, add more salt or a tiny amount of sugar if desired. Add remaining cherry tomato halves and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Notes
If you're looking to recreate the Angel Hair dish seen in the recipe image, it's almost too easy to make in addition to whipping up the sauce and is one of my favorite ways to enjoy this recipe.Simply boil well-salted water for the angel hair and grate about 1/4 cup of Parmesan with a rasp-style grater to achieve the fluffy texture in the photo. I like to save a few cherry tomato halves and briefly saute them with some olive oil and garlic. Then, I'll add the angel hair straight from the boiling water into the pan with a ladle or two of sauce and toss it for a minute before turning off the heat and adding the basil and Parmesan.Simplicity at it's finest.