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1
Prepare the tomatoes for sauce, following one of the methods detailed on page 261, and mix all the pulp and strained juices together.
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2
Put the oil in the saucepan, add the onions and 1 teaspoon of the salt, set over medium heat, and stir well.
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3
Cook and soften the onions for 7 minutes or so, stirring frequently and adjusting the heat to make sure they dont brown.
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4
When the onions are wilted, golden, and translucent, push them aside to clear a space in the bottom of the pan.
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5
Drop the garlic in the hot spot, spread the bits and let them caramelize slightly, for a minute or more, then stir them together with the onions.
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6
Pour 2 tablespoons of water into the pan, stir everything well, and let the vegetables cook and soften for another minute.
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7
Pour the prepared tomatoes into the saucepan (slosh out your tomato bowl with a cup or two of water, and pour in those juices too).
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8
Sprinkle in the peperoncino and another teaspoon of salt, and stir well to blend the seasonings and sauteed onion and garlic into the tomatoes.
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9
Finally, push the bouquet of basil branches into the pot, pressing them down with a spoon until theyre completely submerged.
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10
Cover the pan, raise the heat to high, and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally, then turn the heat down so the surface is just bubbling gently, and cook covered.
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11
Stir occasionally, and adjust the heat to maintain the slow perking.
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12
When the tomatoes have cooked thoroughly and broken down, after 30 minutes or so, remove the cover.
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13
Raise the heat slightly, so the perking picks up a bit and the sauce begins to reduce in volume.
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14
Stir now and then, more frequently as the sauce thickens, to prevent scorching.
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15
Dont rushit will take an hour or more of steady slow cooking to concentrate the tomatoes.
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16
When the sauce is no longer watery and has the consistency you like, remove the pan from the heat.
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17
Taste it, and stir in salt if needed.
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18
Let it cool, and before using or storing, pull out the basil branches, shaking them over the pot to get every last bit of sauce.
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19
The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week, or in the freezer, in a properly filled and sealed container, through the winter.
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20
I shucked the corn and removed all the silk, rinsed the ears, and dropped four of them in the pot.
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21
I covered the saucepan so it quickly returned to a gentle boil, and cooked the ears for about 8 minutes, until the kernels were tender.
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22
Dripping with sauce, the corn looked beautiful and tasted greatand no one needed butter.
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23
In addition, the sauce in the pot gained extra sweetness.
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24
Try this whenever you make this summer tomato sauce.
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25
Its easy to cook a half-dozen ears of corn when the large batch of tomatoes is cooking for the first time.
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26
Or you can reheat a quart or more of finished sauce and poach a couple of ears in it at a time.
