The fifth mother: tomatoes simmered with aromatics and a little pork richness into a sauce that's deeper and rounder than marinara — the French take on the tomato.
What you need
Ingredients
Servings
6
800 g
🥫 Canned Tomatoes ›
50 g
🥓 Pancetta ›
finely diced (optional but traditional)
1
🧅 Onion ›
diced
1
🥕 Carrot ›
fine dice
3 cloves
🧄 Garlic ›
2 tbsp
🫒 Olive Oil ›
2 sprigs
🌿 Thyme ›
1
🍃 Bay Leaves ›
1 tsp
🍬 Sugar ›
Add all to shopping list
Mise en place
Before you start
10m
Prep
45m
Cook
55m
Total
—
Serves
Yield: About 750 ml
Equipment
Small saucepan
Whisk
Prep checklist
Pancetta — finely diced (optional but traditional)
Onion — diced
Carrot — fine dice
3 steps
Method
1
Render the pancetta in olive oil over medium heat 3 minutes; add onion and carrot and soften 8 minutes without browning.
2
Add garlic for 1 minute, then tomatoes, herbs, and sugar. Simmer gently, partly covered, 35 minutes, crushing the tomatoes as they soften.
3
Fish out bay and thyme stems. Leave rustic, or blend smooth. Season — tomatoes always take more salt than you expect.
Learn the technique ›
From the chef
Notes
Taste before serving and adjust salt and acid — the last 30 seconds of seasoning matter more than any single ingredient.
Afterwards
Keep, reheat & pair
Storage
Airtight jar in the fridge, 3–5 days. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of starch-thickened sauces to stop a skin forming.
Freezing
Most sauces freeze 2–3 months; freeze in ice-cube trays for single portions. Emulsified butter/egg sauces don't freeze — they break on thawing.
Reheating
Reheat gently over low heat, whisking; butter- and egg-based sauces split when boiled. Loosen with a spoonful of warm water or stock.
Make ahead
Most sauces keep 3–5 days refrigerated and freeze in ice-cube trays for instant single portions. Emulsified butter sauces are best made within the hour.
Wine pairing
Follows the dish it dresses.
Beer pairing
Follows the dish it dresses.
On the plate
Serve it with
Sides
·
Pasta, obviously
·
Eggs in purgatory
·
The base layer of eggplant parmesan
Garnish
A final swirl of butter or oil
Fresh herbs
Adapt it
Dietary swaps
Plant-based: Skip the pancetta and add a teaspoon of smoked paprika for the missing depth.