Happiness is my new "go-to" canned tomatoes: Contadina San Marzano Style

 

"Product of Italy" available on the shelf right here in Michigan, right now.

Happiness is Mediterranean Tomato Sauce from Rosso and Lukins' THE NEW BASICS

Mediterranean Tomato Sauce, adapted

1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

1 2oz can anchovies in oil

4 cloves garlic

2 28oz cans San Marzano tomatoes

3 T capers in salt, rinsed

1/2 c pitted Kalamata olives

ground black pepper

1) Combine EVOO, anchovies and all their oil, and garlic in a ceramic-coated dutch oven, mash gently and saute over medium heat a couple of minutes. To speed this up I just throw it all in the food processor first to chop it up, then add it to the dutch oven.

2) Add the tomatoes and crush, then add the capers and olives, bring up to heat, then simmer on low covered about an hour, stirring frequently.

3) Before using or storing, grind over some black pepper to taste.

4) Rosso and Lukins use only 35oz of tomatoes but triple the olives, 1.5 c.

We use this on Rosso and Lukins' Mediterranean Hero sandwich from the same cookbook, which is, in my opinion, absolutely fabulous, but is sort of a cheater's Pan Bagnat. We stir together canned atlantic salmon, chopped tomato, and red onion, and place this mixture in a hollowed-out side of an oiled french baguette cut lengthwise (stale is best). You top that with this sauce, then top that with sliced hard-boiled eggs and the other half of the baguette. Then we toast it in the oven at 350F for 15 minutes or so. Before serving we add romaine lettuce, and even avocado. The thing is glorious warm, room temperature, or cold. But this might be more glorious:

Happiness is homegrown organic San Marzano tomatoes

We are recently harvesting these organic San Marzano tomatoes grown from seeds we bought in March from Johnny's Selected Seeds. These are perfect sliced on the Saturday night pizza, on the BLTs at lunch, and of course for sauce. Wonderfully petite and sweet.

Happiness is low-sodium Cento San Marzano tomatoes in the BIG MOTHER 90 oz. can

This one big can yields 10 cups + of smooth sauce through my press.

And only 20 mg sodium per half cup!

It's fabulous!

Happiness is Meijer brand San Marzano Whole Plum Tomatoes With Basil, surprisingly low in sodium

Just 35 mg of sodium in a half cup. Compare that to hundreds of milligrams per half cup from ordinary canned tomatoes.

I run a couple of cans worth through iL Passatutto Velox and presto! I have velvety rich pasta sauce.

This is the kind of thing which makes San Marzano tomatoes San Marzano tomatoes!

I've Changed My Mind About Canned Tomatoes And Switched To San Marzanos

For quite some time, my standard brand of canned tomatoes has been Dei Fratelli. But I must say that compared to the ones we grow ourselves, they're always a let down. And one thing I haven't mentioned is that the cans have a white lining which some people object to out of fear that the acid in the tomatoes reacts with that and leaches something harmful into the contents of the can. Count me skeptical on that score. No company is going to risk their reputation without having looked into that. Besides, that liner has to cost extra to apply to the can. Why bother if they knew it was also harmful?

That said, what it really comes down to is the taste, and as the price of Dei Fratelli has climbed steeply, with lots of other things on the supermarket shelf, I've decided to get reacquainted with the Italian food lover's tomato of choice, the San Marzano. Since the retail price on Dei Fratelli has climbed to $1.99 in my area, paying the higher price for the San Marzano becomes more justifiable when you realize once again just how much more flavor the San Marzano possesses.

When I lived in Chicago and ran out of my own home grown, I had at least two Italian grocers within five miles of my house where I could always get the genuine article, and the major supermarkets often carried the same just to compete. Living as I do now in "Mudflap Meadows" Michigan, the options have been less numerous and the prices more out of reach. I saw a can of Cento San Marzanos the other day at a more upscale grocer for nearly $6 for the 28oz. can. Outrageous!

It turns out Meijer stores carry Bella Terra Organic San Marzanos for $3.79. After I prepared a batch of those I went back for more only to find Meijer has its own store brand of San Marzanos suddenly, right next to the Bella Terra on the bottom shelf. They are just as good, in my opinion. Even better, they were on sale for $2.99 a can.

Compared to Dei Fratelli, the San Marzano cooks up sweeter and less sharp, with a much more robust tomato flavor. It almost seems the Dei Fratelli has a more metallic quality by comparison, which must be the acidity. It's interesting how mellow the San Marzanos are, coming as they do in old fashioned unlined tin cans.

As always, I fill the bottom of a heavy sauce pan with extra virgin olive oil and heat it on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Then I add the contents of two 28oz. cans of tomatoes and bring them to a boil, and then after a stir I put on the lid and reduce the heat to lowest for one hour, stirring every twenty minutes. At the forty minute mark I add six cloves of crushed, chopped or pressed fresh garlic.

After the hour is up, I use my stainless steel potato masher to crush the tomatoes thoroughly and make a uniform thick consistency. I remove the lid and let the sauce cool for freezing in one cup servings. This also permits a little bit of evaporation to help thicken up the sauce.

Life is just too short to eat bad sauce. So don't!