Authentic Marinara Sauce (New York Times)

Authentlc murlnuru...


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1he flrst thlng to know ubout murlnuru: lt's not u synonym for tomuto
suuce.
"Murlnuru ls very sµeclflc,' suys Crettu 2unlnl de vltu, who hus just
µubllshed u very sµeclflc cookbook on how to µulr µustu shuµes wlth
µustu suuces. "1omuto suuce ls u comµletely dlfferent thlng.'
"lt's ull ubout qulck, und llght, und feellng the tomutoes ln your mouth,'
suld Lldlu 8ustlunlch, who recently µubllshed her ¡zth book on the food
of ltuly, "Lldlu's Commonsense ltullun Cooklng' (lnoµf).
Reul murlnuru suuce hus the tuste und julce of fresh tomuto, but ulso u
velvety texture und the rlch blte of ollve oll: even the best jurred suuces
cun't µull thut off. And becuuse lt comes together from µuntry
lngredlents before the µustu wuter even comes to u boll, lt's u reclµe
thut home cooks should muster.
1he trlck to µerfect murlnuru ls to cook lt ut u vlgorous slmmer, so thut
the tomutoes ure cooked through just us the suuce becomes thlck. 1he
tomuto µleces hold thelr shuµe, the seeds don't huve tlme to turn
bltter, und the color stuys brlght red. Lone rlght, lt exµlulns why
sµughettl wlth tomuto suuce ls u dlsh thut u µerson mlght cruve
vlrtuully every duy, us fundumentul us breud und butter or rlce und
klmchl.

1he muklngs of u remurkuble murlnuru suuce. lruncesco 1onelll for 1he
New York 1lmes
"lt's u reul chef's fluvor,' Ms. 8ustlunlch suld. "lt tukes work to get to
the slmµllclty.'
Murlnuru becume u cutchull term for tomuto suuce ln thls country
becuuse lts lngredlents ure ull µlentlful ln Cumµunlu, the ureu uround
Nuµles thut sent so muny fumllles to the Unlted Stutes ln the lust
century. ltullunAmerlcun cooks treuted lt us u multlfunctlonul
lngredlent: u sturtlng µolnt for other suuces, the buse of u souµ, the
ucld thut breuks down meut ln u stew. Strlctly sµeuklng, lt conslsts of
ollve oll, rlµe tomutoes, u substuntlul hlt of gurllc, u nlµ of drled chlle
und drled oreguno (or, ln modern tlmes, fresh busll). 1he llst of thlngs
thut do not belong ln murlnuru ls much longer: no onlons, no wlne, no
meutbulls, no unchovles, no tomuto µuste, no butter (us ln Murcellu
Euzun's wellloved suuce) und ulmost no tlme.
"Lveryone thlnks you huve to huve u grundmu ln the kltchen, stlrrlng
for three hours, to muke your own suuce,' suld lrunk Prlslnzuno, who
mukes four dlfferent tomuto suuces ut hls restuurunt Suuce ln the Lust
vllluge. "Murlnuru, ufter z¸ mlnutes, lt's deud.'
8uck ln the lust century, when most Amerlcuns cooks hud never heurd
of "µustu' (lt wus culled mucuronl), there wus one klnd of tomuto
suuce ut the suµermurket. lt wus smooth und sweet, cume ln u cun und
hud u rellubly fulnt onlon fluvor. Now there ure hundreds.
Lven buslc suuce goes under muny dlfferent numes (tomutobusll,
murlnuru, chunky onlontomuto, rustlco, clusslc) und cun euslly cost s¡c
u quurt. Much better to buy u cun of tomutoes und muke your own.
1here ls nothlng wrong wlth u slowcooked sugo dl µomodoro, u long
slmmered smooth suuce wlth uromutlcs llke onlon und celery. Cr the
qulck suute of whole tomutoes, ollve oll, mlnlmul gurllc und busll thut
µroduces µustu ul µomodoro e buslllco. Cr u comµlex rugu, whlch often
lncludes red meut und cun cook for muny hours, untll the meut melts
lnto the suuce.
8ut none of them ls murlnuru, u slmµle comblnutlon thut nonetheless
requlres u µurtlculur method und sµeclflc lngredlents. lf you usuully buy
jurred suuce, or thlnk of tomuto suuce us too buslc to merlt much
uttentlon, µut Ms. 8ustlunlch's µreclse reclµe to the test.
Use u sklllet, not u suuceµun. 1hls ullows the suuce to cook evenly und
thlcken qulckly.

"lt tukes work to get to the slmµllclty," suys the chef und uuthor Lldlu
8ustlunlch. Angel lruncoj1he New York 1lmes
Use freshtustlng ollve oll, lt mutters not whether from ltuly or
Cullfornlu or Creece.
Use gurllc cloves thut ure not sµrouted or yellow, but flrm und whlte.
Cnce µeeled, they cun be thlnly sllced or sllvered, or left whole und
llghtly crushed, but not choµµed or mlnced. 1he more the gurllc cells
ure broken down, the more sulfurous molecules, whlch µroduce u
strong odor und fluvor, ure releused. "Uslng lots of gurllc ls u
stereotyµe of ltullun food, but the wuy we use lt keeµs the fluvor under
control,' Ms. 8ustlunlch suld.
Use fresh busll sµrlgs, µreferubly not the overgrown 'uckundthe
8eunstulk klnd wlth floµµy leuves und flbrous stems, but lt wlll do. (1he
greenhouse busll uvulluble most of the yeur ls often grussytustlng,
smull leuves ure tustler.) Lrled oreguno ls trudltlonul und cun be used
lnterchungeubly, ut muny ltullun und Creek murkets, lt ls sold on the
brunch, whlch lends u rounder fluvor thun the leuves ln the jur.
lf µosslble, use u smull drled chlle lnsteud of flukes from u jur, whlch
lnclude the bltter seeds. llsh lt out of the suuce und dlscurd ut the end.
And now, to the tomutoes. lf you huµµen to llve neur Mount vesuvlus,
by ull meuns use rlµe locul tomutoes. lf not, cunned ure ulmost certulnly
your best oµtlon.
Some cunned tomutoes from the ureu uround Nuµles, churucterlzed by
volcunlc soll, µlentlful sunshlne und sulty breezes, ure certlfled by the
Luroµeun Unlon us "Sun Murzuno' tomutoes. Sun Murzuno ls u
Lenomlnuzlone d'Crlglne Protettu, meunlng thut the tomutoes ure
grown, µrocessed und µucked there.
8ut becuuse the entlre ureu of the L.C.P. ls ubout ¡6,ccc hectures, or
6c squure mlles, lt cunnot µosslbly µroduce the mllllons of cuns thut
now beur the nume Sun Murzuno. 1hese muy be tomutoes of the Sun
Murzuno struln, but grown ln New 'ersey or Chlle or 1unlslu. 1hls ls true
even lf they ure lubeled "µroduct of ltuly,' whlch ussures only thut they
were cunned ln ltuly. (Unless lt doesn't.) As wlth extruvlrgln ollve oll,
bulsumlc vlnegur und other µrestlge lngredlents, both fruud und
confuslon ure now rumµunt ln the buslness of selllng Sun Murzuno
tomutoes. Luroµeun Unlon certlfled tomutoes cun be ldentlfled by the
redundyellow sunburst on the lubel, but uccordlng to Mr. Prlslnzuno,
even thut doesn't ussure the best fluvor.

"1hls ls ltuly we're tulklng ubout,' he suld. "1hey love tomutoes more
thun unythlng. Lo you reully thlnk they're golng to tuke the best ones,
µut them ln u cun und send them over here for us to eut? No wuy.'

Shrlmµ ullu murlnuru. 1ony Cenlcoluj1he New York 1lmes
Mr. Prlslnzuno uses u hefty µroµortlon of domestlc Redµuck brund
tomutoes ln hls suuces: he llkes thelr µredlctublllty und tung. 8ut to
bulunce them wlth sweetness und brlght fluvor, twlce u yeur he
conducts u tustlng of dozens of brunds to snlff out whlch µurt of the
world, whlch µucker, whlch struln ls µroduclng the best tomutoes of
thut µurtlculur hurvest. Usuully, whole tomutoes ure the flnest
sµeclmens, but crushed tomutoes ure sometlmes mude from the rlµest
frult. "Suuce ls whut l do,' he suld. "l huve to get lt rlght.'
lt ull comes out ln the suuce: muke murlnuru from u few dlfferent
brunds to flnd your fuvorlte. 1he best tomutoes wlll be fleshy but julcy,
rlµe from end to end, und huve the µurtlculur bulunce of ucld und
sweetness thut you µrefer.
1he exµlunutlons of why thls suuce ls culled ullu murlnuru ÷ of the
sullor ÷ when lt doesn't contuln flsh, ure muny und convoluted. lt muy
be becuuse thls llght, qulckcooklng suuce ls well sulted to flsh und
shellflsh. Cr becuuse flshermen hud to cook dlnner out on thelr bouts ln
the 8uy of Nuµles, und dldn't huve tlme or fuel to slmmer u suuce for
hours.
Cr, uccordlng to Ms. 2unlnl de vltu, who hus just µubllshed "Suuces und
Shuµes: Pustu the ltullun vuy' (v. v. Norton), lt could be thut the
Neuµolltun flshermen hud u trlck to deeµen the fluvor. "1hey would µut
u stone from the seu to boll ln the suuce,' she suld. 1hls sounded
µreµosterous untll she udded, "or some seuweed,' whlch mukes more
sense: seuweeds und seu sult both contuln nuturul glutumutes, whlch
µroduce umuml, u rounded, suvory fluvor thut mukes food sutlsfylng.
Ms. 2unlnl de vltu und her couuthor, Muureen 8. lunt (un Amerlcun
who wrltes for 1he New York 1lmes from Rome), ugree thut murlnuru
cun be µulred wlth ulmost uny shuµe of µustu, muklng lt unusuully
versutlle wlthln the ltullun cunon. (Smooth tomuto suuces, they suld,
work wlth long, thln shuµes llke sµughettl, chunky ones usuully demund
u stubby shuµe, wlth holes or cuµs to cutch the suuce.)
Strlctly sµeuklng, murlnuru should not be served wlth cheese.
And flnully, murlnuru should never be sµooned on toµ of µluln µustu,
but tossed wlth lt ln u µreheuted servlng bowl ÷ or ln the cooklng µot
÷ us soon us the µustu ls reudy. 1hls muy be the most lmµortunt steµ
of ull, but Amerlcun cooks often don't observe µrotocol, suld Ms. lunt,
who teuches clusses ln Romun cooklng.
"You never, never leuve the µustu slttlng uround ln u colunder,' she
suld. "ln ltuly you could go to jull for thut.'

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Eomemude murlnuru ls ulmost us fust und tustes lmmeusurubly better
thun even the best suµermurket suuce und lt's mude wlth buslc
µuntry lngredlents. All the trlcks to u brlght red, llvelytustlng suuce,
mude just us lt ls ln the south of ltuly (no butter, no onlons) ure ln thls
reclµe. Use u sklllet lnsteud of the usuul suuceµun: the wuter
evuµorutes qulckly, so the tomutoes ure just cooked through the the
suuce becomes thlck.
1C1AL 1lML: z¸ mlnutes

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¡ z8ounce cun whole Sun Murzuno tomutoes, certlfled L.C.P. lf
µosslble
¡jµ cuµ extruvlrgln ollve oll
, gurllc cloves, µeeled und sllvered
Smull drled whole chlle, or µlnch crushed red µeµµer flukes
¡ teusµoon kosher sult
¡ lurge fresh busll sµrlg, or ¡jµ teusµoon drled oreguno, more to tuste
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¡.
Pour tomutoes lnto u lurge bowl und crush wlth your hunds. Pour ¡ cuµ
wuter lnto cun und slosh lt uround to get tomuto julces. Reserve.
z.
ln u lurge sklllet (do not use u deeµ µot) over medlum heut, heut the oll.
vhen lt ls hot, udd gurllc.
¸.
As soon us gurllc ls slzzllng (do not let lt brown), udd the tomutoes,
then the reserved tomuto wuter. Add whole chlle or red µeµµer flukes,
oreguno (lf uslng) und sult. Stlr.
µ.
Pluce busll sµrlg, lncludlng stem, on the surfuce (llke u flower). Let lt
wllt, then submerge ln suuce. Slmmer suuce untll thlckened und oll on
surfuce ls u deeµ orunge, ubout ¡¸ mlnutes. (lf uslng oreguno, tuste
suuce ufter ¡c mlnutes of slmmerlng, uddlng more sult und oreguno us
needed.) Llscurd busll und chlle (lf uslng).
YlLLL: Mukes ubout ¸ ¡jz cuµs, enough for ¡ µound of µustu.
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Aduµted from Lldlu 8ustlunlch
8y 'ULlA MCSllN
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1hls reclµe qulckly turns u butch of homemude murlnuru suuce lnto
dlnner. You cun serve lt rlght out of the µun, wlth crusty breud und u
green vegetuble. Cr, remove the shrlmµ und toss the suuce wlth u
µound of steumlnghot sµughettl or unother long, thln µustu, then µut
them buck together ln servlng bowls, µluclng the shrlmµ on toµ. Lon't
uttemµt to toss the suuce, shrlmµ, und µustu together the llvely
uctlon needed to cout the µustu wlll breuk down the shrlmµ. You wunt
them to be crlsµ und suvory.
1C1AL 1lML: z¸ mlnutes

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8 tublesµoons extruvlrgln ollve oll
8 whole gurllc cloves, µeeled und llghtly crushed
z ¡jz µounds lurge shrlmµ (ubout ¸c), µeeled und develned
Sult
Murlnuru suuce (see reclµe)
8 fresh busll leuves, torn lnto smull µleces (oµtlonul)
z tublesµoons mlnced fresh ltullun µursley
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¡.
Eeut µ tublesµoons oll ln u lurge sklllet over medlum heut. Add µ gurllc
cloves und cook just untll golden und slzzllng. Add hulf the shrlmµ,
µluclng them ln one luyer ln the µun. (lf you crowd the shrlmµ, they wlll
steum lnsteud of fry.) Sµrlnkle wlth sult.
z.
Cook, turnlng once, just untll llghtly golden und µlnk uround the edges,
ubout µ mlnutes totul. vlth u slotted sµoon, trunsfer the shrlmµ to u
µlute. Llscurd gurllc cloves. Reµeut wlth remulnlng oll, gurllc und shrlmµ.
¸.
vhen ull the shrlmµ ure cooked, µour the suuce lnto the emµty sklllet,
und brlng to u llvely slmmer, stlrrlng to scruµe the bottom of the µun.
1uste for sult und udd more lf needed.
µ.
Stlr ln the shrlmµ, busll (lf uslng) und µursley, und cook just untll the
shrlmµ ure heuted through. Serve lmmedlutely.
YlLLL: ¸ or 6 servlngs