its 10 minutes to midnight on a sunday and every bone in my stupid body is urging me to cook the slow traditional perfect pomodoro despite the fact it would take minimum 3 hours. And the worst thing is I think im probably going to do it

ah fuck it im gonna do it

its 1am

tomatoes blanched and peeled. save skins
roughly chop and liberally coat with salt. leave to sit
poach skins in olive oil on med low heat until oils have infused fully

keep heat low snd stir as skins release oils
dice one large or two medium white onions
when skins are caramelizing or turning transparent, transfer to a sieve and press out remaining oil, which should now be bright orange and tomato infused

add the diced onions to the oil on medium, sweat for 10 or 15 until turning translucent, but dont brown
you can discard the tomato skins but i throw them in a blender w a garlic clove some olive oil and 2 scoops vegan mayo and some fresh chillis
this bangs. put in fridge

tomatoes look like this now
onions look like this now
combine
mix and salt top liberally. heat to just enough to get a simmer

keep that heat low, and stir, stir stir. you see that bright orange foam? thats the tomato oil doing its work on the flesh. now we let the flavours develop. Slowly

slowly. keep that heat on a low simmer. dont rush this. dont let the sugars in the tomatoes caremelize. then its game over, no more flavour development. low and slow. stir frequently. relax

much more regular liquid now but a long way to go. tomato flavour should be starting to make its presence felt now. remember to stir. also scrape any residue that forms on sides of pan during reduction back into mix. big flavour

still reducing. still stirring. flavours starting to really go off now

two hours in. the liquid has reduced by about half. flavour already at hoo boy. but we will go further

a joyful milestone. paste and liquid incorporating enough that solids remain visible after stirring. getting there

still reducing. theres no way to rush it. i made this as a meditation / relaxation but i will make a small bowl of pasta as you might as well see results. but rest is going in a mason jar for the rest of the week

theres no going back
only forward
the next stop
is the saucing zone

think we're done folks. time to let this settle and then its going in a mason jar. but first, i'll make one plate, as a treat

bon app my good friends