Home › Sauces › Tomato Sauce (II)
Tomato Sauce (II)
1 Can Tomatoes 2 Cups Water 4 Cloves 4 Pepper Corns 2 Teaspoons Mixed Herbs 4 Sprigs Parsley 2 Tablespoons Chopped Onion 2 Tablespoons Fat 1/2 Tablespoons Cornstarch 1 Teaspoon Salt 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper f. g. Cayenne Boil the tomatoes with spices and herbs together in a sauce pan. Heat the fat in a frying pan and in this cook the cut-up onion. Slowly add the cornstarch, stirring to keep from lumping. Add, to the hot tomatoes. Add the salt, pepper and Let cook to cayenne. thicken, then strain over the fish.
A thin, strained tomato sauce of the sort served over boiled or baked fish. The method is straightforward; the measurements need translating.
- "f. g. Cayenne"Shorthand for "few grains" — a pinch, no more. The abbreviation appears throughout period cookbooks alongside "f. d." for a few drops.
- The can of tomatoesPeriod can sizes varied; "1 can tomatoes" in cookbooks of this era usually meant somewhere between a pound and a No. 2 can of about two and a half cups. A modern 14.5 oz can is a reasonable match; with a 28 oz can, cut the water back sharply.
- Water and consistencyTwo cups of water against one small can of tomatoes gives a very thin liquid, and half a tablespoon of cornstarch will barely thicken it. Expect a light pouring sauce rather than a coating one, and reduce by simmering if you want more body, or use a full tablespoon of cornstarch.
- The fatButter, lard or bacon drippings, whichever was at hand. Butter suits fish best. Two tablespoons of fat to half a tablespoon of cornstarch is far more fat than a standard roux; the surplus is there for flavour and will float unless whisked in hard.
- Mixed herbsA dried blend, often some combination of thyme, marjoram, savory and sage. Any dried Italian or poultry blend stands in; two teaspoons of dried herb in this quantity of liquid is assertive, and the sauce is strained in any case.
- Bag the whole spicesCloves, peppercorns and parsley sprigs all come out at the strainer anyway. Tying them in cheesecloth saves the sieve from clogging and lets you pull them once the flavour is where you want it; the recipe sets no simmering time, so taste as you go.
- Order of operationsThe last sentence is scrambled in the printing ("Add the salt, pepper and Let cook to cayenne. thicken"). The intended sequence: boil the tomatoes with the spices and herbs; cook the onion in the fat and stir in the cornstarch; add that to the hot tomatoes; add salt, pepper and cayenne; cook until it thickens; strain over the fish.
- YieldSomewhere between two and three cups once strained, depending on how far you reduce it; enough to sauce six or so servings of fish.
This is essentially a *sauce tomate* built on a can rather than fresh fruit and thickened with cornstarch instead of a flour roux — a substitution common in American home cooking, where cornstarch was cheap, gave a clearer sauce and needed less cooking to lose its raw taste. The direction to "strain over the fish" places it in the tradition of serving boiled or baked white fish under a smooth sauce.