Recipe: Blistered Tomato Relish, A Modern Mother Sauce
Katy Sparks offers her version of one of the classic "mother sauces," plus a couple of variations on the theme.
As any culinary school student learns, one of the pillars of western cuisine rests on the foundation of the five classical “mother sauces,” which are Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Hollandaise and Sauce Tomate. Nowadays we are blessed with many more global influences in our cooking and that has made all the difference! I thought it would be fun to update one of the classical sauces, Sauce Tomate, to reflect how I cook now — it has been decades since I had a paper toque sitting uncomfortably on my head! To be called a mother sauce, you must spawn a few daughter sauces. In the case of the classical tomato sauce, it gives birth to: Marinara, Creole Sauce, Bolognese and Provençale Sauce. I have listed some of my own variations below but once you make this versatile blistered tomato relish yourself it becomes clear how easily just a few swapped or added ingredients help you create your own lineage of daughter sauces!
Blistered Tomato Relish
Makes approximately 2 cups
1 pint cherry tomatoes, rinsed and patted dry
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ cup thinly sliced yellow or white onion
2 T. olive oil
1 tea. minced rosemary
1 tea. grated lemon zest
½ tea. freshly ground coriander seed
½ tea. red pepper flakes
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 tea. sea salt
½ tea. freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and dress with the garlic, sliced onion, olive oil, rosemary, lemon zest and coriander seed.
Lay out on a parchment-lined baking sheet with cut side down. Roast until tomatoes begin to brown and blistered — about 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and transfer the blistered tomatoes to a bowl. Season with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt and black pepper. Smash lightly with a spoon to make a chunky relish.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
My favorite variations are:
1. Add capers, olives and anchovies for a bruschetta topping or simple pasta sauce.
2. Add toasted almond, saffron and boosted red chili to accompany any fish or shellfish dish.
3. Swap out the balsamic vinegar for lime juice and add cilantro and dry toasted cumin seeds for a wonderful enchilada sauce.
4. Add some lightly sautéed ginger in ghee with turmeric and garam masala for a southeast Asian inspired variation.
