Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
 
Italian Pomorola 
A Simple Tomato Sauce
 
Beloved by kids and grownups alike, pomorola is the foundational red sauce in much of Italian cuisine. You can serve it over pasta, baked potatoes, veggies just as it is.  And you can create many variations, like adding capers, dried chili, and olives for pasta puttanesca, or eggplant for pasta Norma.  Add string bean and potatoes and you get fagiolini al umido (stewed green beans with potatoes), or the veggie-packed Ethiopian stew yataklete kilkil.  A good pomorola is delicious, infinitely versatile and adaptable.
 
This is a whole food plant-based gluten-free recipe with no-oil/salt/sugar.
 
Prep time 10 minutes          Cooking time 20 minutes                Serves 4-6
 
Ingredients
 
1 28-oz can of good quality organic whole tomatoes, passed through the largest sieve of a food mill OR a jar of passata OR puréed tomatoes 
1 medium red onion, medium dice
Small dry white wine or vermouth, or unsalted veggie broth, or water to deglaze pan
3 large cloves garlic, minced
Small bunch of basil, whole or leaves cut chiffonade
Aka (red) miso•, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
 
•  Miso is a good salt alternative that helps to lower blood pressure (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5313421/#:~:text=Miso%2C%20which%20is%20made%20from,%2C%20including%20salt%2Dsensitive%20hypertension).
 
Hint:  While classic Italian pomorola uses puréed tomatoes, you can also use whole or diced tomatoes or indeed fresh tomatoes, cut crudely, for a more chunkly rustic sauce. 
 
Directions
 
In a stainless pot, dry sauté onions until carmelized. Deglaze with your liquid of choice.
 
Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
 
Add tomatoes.  For a chunky sauce, break up whole canned tomatoes with a wooden spoon or potato masher. 
 
Cook 20 minutes, uncovered, to allow the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken slightly.  Season to taste.  Toss in the basil for the final minute of cooking.  Turn off heat and allow the basil to permeate the sauce.
 
Buon appetito!