It’s the dead of autumn now, and I think we’ve officially seen the last summer tomatoes. For those of us intent on making tomato sauce year-round, this would normally mean that the zippy, fresh sauces of summer — those made with just-plucked beefsteaks or sungolds — are giving way to heartier fare, like short-rib ragu and Bolognese sauce, which utilize canned tomatoes.
Although those dishes are wonderful, I’m here to say that you can still make a light, fresh tomato sauce after tomato season ends. You will just have to lean on your supermarket.
“But it’s not the same!” says the all-knowing foodie. “You cannot buy a good tomato at a supermarket in the winter.” This is true, sort of. Most off-season grocery store produce tastes of barely anything at all, let alone its uncanny texture.
But the important qualifier is most; most fruits and vegetables taste better from the farmer’s market. Some, however, do quite well even after being trucked in from a greenhouse. I believe that it’s an important part of home-cooking aptitude to know when and what to buy from a supermarket. For starters: grape tomatoes.
If you no longer have beautiful summer tomatoes but you’re still jonesing for a fresh tomato sauce, supermarket grape tomatoes are your answer. They pack a sweet punch and always perform admirably; best of all, they’re good (or good enough) year-round. The below is a recipe for a grape tomato sauce that, yes, does include canned tomato passata (along with a fortifying dose of rendered guanciale fat), but nonetheless scratches the summertime itch during shorter days.
Grape Tomato and Guanciale Sauce
Ingredients
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
10 oz tomato purée
2 tablespoons double-concentrated tomato paste
4 oz guanciale lardons
1 Spanish onion, finely diced
6 cloves of garlic, ground into a paste
Instructions
Set a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the guanciale and a bit of olive oil. Cook until the fat has rendered out and the guanciale is crispy and brown. Remove and save for another use.
Turn the heat to low and add the onions, garlic, and tomato paste. Add more olive oil if necessary. Cook until the onions are completely soft and tomato paste has incorporated. Salt to taste.
Add the grape tomatoes and turn the heat to medium high. Stir to incorporate and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato passata and a bit of water, as needed. Bring to a boil and simmer the sauce until the grape tomatoes have melted a bit, approx. 20 minutes.
Salt to taste.