When Life Gives You Tomatoes

Yes garden, furnish us with tomatoes. No garden, not that many at once please. As with zucchini overpopulation crises weathered earlier in the season, I suppose this is a manageable abundance. If only there were some dish consisting predominantly of tomatoes thrown into a pot and left alone — ah ha! I recall following at least some of the unnecessary extra steps back at BU: a roux? a food mill!? Perhaps it was youthful exuberance driving me to do such things, though I'm inclined to believe it was more of an embarrassing excess of time than anything else. Well now we are down to the essence of things. Screw the food mill, we have a stick blender!

This comes from a rather intense book, Classic Techniques of Italian Cooking, that includes a recipe for a whole pheasant. One should, of course, display the original wings alongside the cooked bird in a fruit bowl thereafter "placing the neck and head in position, creating the pleasant illusion that the live bird is eating the fruit." No, thanks. Tomatoes are cooked whole, wings or not. The sauce is unlike any other I've had, given the heavy citrus flavor afforded by the two uncharacteristic ingredients, enjoy!

Tomato Sauce with Lemon and Capers

Makes Four Cups
5 Minutes Prep, 30 Minutes to Cook

The Goods

• 2 lb. Fresh Tomatoes, Quartered
• 2 Cloves Crushed Garlic
• 4 Tbs. Capers
• 2 Pieces Fresh Lemon Peel
• 2 Tbs. Olive Oil
• 4-5 Tbs. Butter
• 1 Lemon's Worth Lemon Juice

The Procedure

1. Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and then add the tomatoes, capers, garlic, and lemon peel. Cook over medium heat for around 25-30 minutes. Cooking time is a matter or personal preference for sauce texture.
2. Remove the lemon peel. Blend thoroughly with a stick blender, by other means, or not at all.
3. Add the butter and lemon juice, mix, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

NB: Don't underestimate the power of butter…