Mario Batali's Basic Tomato Sauce

From Special Sauce

I'm running out of weeks before I need to have Nathaniel's unique tomato sauce so I went on an internet quest for another recipe to try. I thought Mario Batali would have some great Italian sauces, and came across his recipe for Basic Tomato Sauce. The reviews were great, many said it tasted exactly like what they've had in Italy, so I thought I would give it a try.

Basic Tomato Sauce

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Spanish onion, 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 medium carrot, finely grated
2 (28-ounce) cans peeled whole tomatoes, crushed by hand and juices reserved
Salt
Spaghetti, cooked al dente
Whole basil leaves, for garnish
Grated Parmesan, (optional)

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, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and serve. This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

When ready to use, the cooked pasta should be added to a saucepan with the appropriate amount of sauce. Garnish with basil leaves and cheese, if using.

*****

The step of crushing the tomatoes by hand brings up many questions for me. There were some chunks that never broke down even after 40 minutes of simmering, and as a result the sauce was chunkier than I would have liked. I think if I made it again I might run it lightly through a food processor, or start out with crushed or diced tomatoes (although I think this might interfere with the flavor). I've also been contemplating doing the same final steps to this recipe that the last one called for - adding oil and water and blending it all together.

The flavor was great though, and I froze the leftovers to try using on a pizza.