Tomato Sauce and Tomato Soup

So I was watching Colameco's Food Show and noticed they were doing a profile on A Voce, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in the city. One thing that caught my eye is the really simple tomato sauce they make - it's basically just tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil with minimal manipulation. Now I have to say, Mario Batali and his informative show, Molto Mario, got me into cooking food like they do in Italy, so I always used his basic tomato sauce recipe. No more, A Voce's tomato sauce blows it away. I tried the real deal at A Voce and it was a complete "what the f" moment.

Tomato Sauce alla A Voce
On the show, A Voce uses fresh tomatoes, but tomatoes suck now so I used the canned San Marzano's - Italy's best tomatoes. I had a San Marzano can from Costco - so hence the 106 oz can used...you can obviously use less. The key is the tomatoes have to taste real good just plain - pop one in your mouth and it should be slighty sweet and very rich. The sauce will be a revelation on how a tomato sauce should taste - real tomatoes, nothing else - it really helps to strain the juice, since most sauces use the juice which mutes the tomato flavor.

Ingredients
106 oz of canned San Marzano Whole Tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 sprig of basil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

1) Remove the whole tomatoes and poke a hole with your thumb to let the juice out. Place all the whole tomato pieces in a strainer in a bowl - make sure there's enough room so it strains properly. Let sit for 2 hours.
2) In a small sauce pan, heat olive oil over low heat. Add garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes. After 3-5 minutes, the room will smell like garlic and basil.
3) Remove the strained tomato pieces and place in a pot over high heat. Salt and pepper the tomatoes. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Add oil - not all of it, just use your judgment - should probably be about 2-3 tablespoons worth. Stir around and break up most of the pieces. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. Taste and re-season if necessary. If you like the consistency and flavor of the sauce, remove from the heat.


Tomato Soup
With the strained tomato juices from the sauce, it made perfect sense to make tomato soup. Make sure to save one or two pieces of tomato to give the soup more body.

Ingredients
106 oz of canned San Marzano Whole Tomatoes, juices only
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 shallot thinly sliced
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 sprig of basil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
pesto
toasted white bread cut into cubes
salt and pepper

1) Set a large pot over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and shallots. Saute for 3-5 minutes - make sure it doesn't burn, but just gets soft. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds to one minute.
2) Add tomato juice and a tomato or two to the pot. Bring to a boil then simmer the mixture. Add the parsley and basil and salt and pepper.
3) Simmer for 15-30 minutes until it tastes right and has the correct consistency.
4) Pour the soup mixture in a bowl and add olive oil, the bread cubes, and pesto. Buono appetito!