My Homemade Tomato Sauce with Carrot (Sweet Tomate Frito)

Last week I published this recipe, in which I used fried tomato sauce, and I mentioned that I make a special one. I also said I'd post it soon on this blog of ours. Since our politicians already take care of breaking promises, today we'll talk about tomato — fried tomato sauce.

I have to start by saying I love the tomato sauce I make. It probably can't be considered a standard Spanish tomate frito, because it has an ingredient that isn't usually used in this sauce: carrot. Yes, my tomato sauce has carrot in it.

Another change from traditional recipes is that I make it quite sweet, which, combined with the herbes de Provence I add, gives it an extraordinary flavour — especially with pasta or potato gnocchi.

My fried tomato sauce recipe

Ingredients

• 1 small tin of crushed tomato
• 1 onion
• 1 large carrot
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence

Method

Since it isn't always easy to find tomatoes ripe enough to make this with fresh tomatoes, when in doubt it's better to use crushed tinned tomato (you know, Orlando-style), because it's ripe tomato with no skin or seeds, and you can find some of great quality. Above all, don't make this recipe with a half-green salad tomato.

First, slice the onion finely and cut the carrot into small pieces (for example, sticks).

Then put a good drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan and gently brown the onion over a low heat. After 6–7 minutes add the carrot and season with salt. After 5 more minutes add the sugar. It's quite common to use sugar in fried tomato sauce to counteract the acidity, but in this case we add much more than usual — 2–3 tablespoons; it should be quite sweet. Stir a little and add the crushed tomato. Stir again and add the herbs. Cook for about 15 minutes over a low heat, stirring constantly, then take it off the heat.

Now comes the clever part: blend everything with a hand blender or the Thermomix, making the carrot — and the onion too — disappear.

You'll get a tomato sauce with a lovely, more orange colour, "super-vitaminised" and with an extraordinary flavour.

It goes with lots of things, and kids love it.

🌐 Llegeix aquesta recepta en català