Tomat

Tomat Made from tomatoes, onions, and garlic, this sauce can be enriched with stock and various seasonings. It is not thickened by a roux but instead relies on the natural thickness of tomatoes. Perfect for pasta dishes, pizzas, and braised meats. It’s also the foundation for sauces like marinara and Bolognese.

In French cuisine, the "tomat" sauce, more commonly known as "sauce tomat," is a classic and essential mother sauce. This foundational sauce is made from tomatoes, onions, garlic, and often a touch of wine and chicken stock, simmered to develop a rich, deep flavour. It's incredibly versatile and serves as a base for many dishes, from pasta and pizza to braises and stews. The sauce tomat can be adapted with various herbs and seasonings to complement different recipes, making it a cornerstone of French cooking.

You can follow the directions below or follow along with the...

Bite Size

1 min

Just a Sliver

4 min

Real Time Tutorial

20 min

METHOD

1. Start by dicing up your celery, carrot and onion, this is known as a mirepoix.(Cut the vegetables to approximately 1cm squared.)

2. Roughly chop the garlic and pull the leaves off the thyme stem if you would like to blend it into the final sauce.(You can place the whole thyme stem in and remove before blending.)

3. Crush the caned whole peeled tomatoes.

4. Bring your heavy base pot (approx. 7 liters) to temperature 120°c add the butter and pancetta, stirring so it doesn’t burn, you want to render the pancetta just “melt” the fat.

5. You will have the pancetta on for at least 10 minutes or until you can only see the meat of the pancetta (as the fat has rendered off.)

6. Slightly warm the beef stock to 40°c

7. Add the mirepoix to the pot, celery, carrot and onion and have on a med to high heat for 5 minutes.

8. Add the bay leaves, garlic and thyme.

9. Add the beef stock and add crushed tomatoes, no need to bring to the boil as its going into the oven.

10. Place the lid on the pot and place in the oven for 60 minutes at 160°c. You can have the pot in the oven for up to 1.5 hrs however the longer you have the mixture in the oven the more chance of the liquid evaporating off.

11. At the 25-minute mark stir the mixture and leave in the oven for the remaining time. When you remove from the oven remove the bay leaves (and thyme stems) and let cool for 15 minutes.

12. Using you preferred blending method blend to a smooth liquid. You can store the cooled tomat sauce in an air tight jar in the fridge for 1 week or in a jug (covered) for 3 days.