Stewed and Strained Tomato Sauce Base

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Used for sautéing and creating the roux.)
• 0.5 cup Yellow Onion, finely diced (Approximately half a small onion. The original recipe refers to 'vegetables' generally; onion is a common choice for a tomato base.)
• 2 tablespoons All-purpose flour (For thickening the sauce into a roux.)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 0.25 teaspoon Black Pepper (Original recipe calls for '⅛ teaspoon pepper'.)
• 0.125 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (Original recipe calls for 'few grains cayenne'.)
• 1 cup Water
• 1 14.5-ounce can Canned Crushed Tomatoes (Modern equivalent for 'tomato' to be stewed and strained. This quantity is scaled up from what would yield only ½ cup.)

Instructions

1. 1Finely dice the yellow onion. Measure out the butter, flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, water, and canned crushed tomatoes.
2. 2In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the unsalted butter. Add the finely diced yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. 3Add the all-purpose flour, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to the saucepan with the softened onions. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes, until the flour is well browned and fragrant. This creates a brown roux.
4. 4Gradually add the water and canned crushed tomatoes to the saucepan, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and well combined.
5. 5Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the sauce to thicken slightly.
6. 6Carefully pour the cooked sauce through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to press any solids against the sieve, extracting as much liquid as possible. Discard the remaining solids. The resulting smooth, strained tomato sauce base is now ready to use.