In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julia Child says, "Sauces are the splendor and glory of French cooking, yet there is nothing secret or mysterious about making them."
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In 1961, Julia Child brought everyday French cooking to America with her quintessential cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking. From simple sauces to boeuf bourguignon, her cookbook is a perfect introduction to French recipes for both beginners and more advanced cooks.
For my first foray into French cooking, I thought I’d start at the beginning and try a simple tomato sauce recipe, which is one of the five mother sauces.
How to Make Julia Child’s Provençale Tomato Sauce
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup finely minced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons flour
- 3 pounds ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon sugar
- 2 cloves mashed garlic
- a medium herb bouquet: 4 parsley sprigs, 1 small bay leaf, 1 sprig (1/4 teaspoon) thyme tied in cheesecloth
- 1/8 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon dried basil
- small pinch saffron
- small pinch of ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel granules (or a 1-inch piece of dried orange peel)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- salt and pepper to taste
Tools You’ll Need
- 3-Quart Saucepan: Use a high-sided saucepan like this to simmer the sauce—or a Dutch oven, if you have one.
- Shun Chef’s Knife: This 8″ chef’s knife is a must-have for our Test Kitchen cooks.
- Wooden Spoon:I love wooden spoons because they won’t scratch the bottom of my cookware. Just be sure to keep separate spoons for sweet and savory cooking.
Initial Thoughts
Fresh tomatoes are the star of this sauce! The best time to make this recipe is when tomatoes are at the height of their ripeness during the summer. (Not sure what type of tomatoes to use? This guide explains what to do with each type of tomato.) The best part is that this sauce is perfect for freezing, meaning you can enjoy the flavors of late summer during the height of winter.
Getting Started
The recipe is quite straightforward: fresh tomatoes simmered with onion, garlic and herbs. The most daunting part of this recipe (for me at least), was prepping the tomatoes. Modern recipes get around this step by simply quartering the tomatoes and putting them through the coarse grating blade of a food processor. However, I thought I ought to be authentic to how Julia would do it, so I followed her tomato preparation instructions to a T.
First, blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds. Then use a knife to cut out the stem and peel off the skin, starting at the stem hole. To seed and juice the tomatoes, cut each peeled tomato in half crosswise (horizontally) and gently squeeze to remove the seeds and juices from the center of the tomato. Turns out this step, though a little time-consuming, was a lot easier than I thought!
Learn to be a better cook with a handful of lessons from Julia Child.
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Making the Sauce
Once the tomatoes were prepped, the rest of the recipe came together without too much effort. First, I cooked the onions in the olive oil in a three-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the onions were tender. Then I added the flour, and cooked for three minutes. Finally, I stirred in the chopped tomatoes, sugar, garlic, herbs and spices, placed the lid on the pan, and cooked over low heat for 10 minutes. Last but not least, I removed the lid and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
According to Julia, the sauce is done when “it tastes thoroughly cooked and is thick enough to form a mass in the spoon.” At this point, I removed the herb bouquet and stirred in two tablespoons of tomato puree to add a little cover. I gave the sauce a final taste and added some freshly ground pepper for seasoning.
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
The Final Product
The resulting tomato sauce was absolutely delicious, and an easy way to dip my toe into the world of French cooking. This sauce is quite versatile and Julia suggests using it over chicken, beef, eggs, pizzas and of course, pasta. And, if you’ve made the tomato sauce from scratch, you probably ought to serve it over homemade pasta, right?
I would make this sauce again in a heartbeat! Just as soon as I’m done streaming The French Chef.
Master the Rest of Julia Child’s Recipes
FAQs
Homemade sauce offers the advantages of quality control, customization, and fresh ingredients, but it requires time and effort. Store-bought sauce provides convenience and consistency, yet you may need to accept compromises in terms of ingredients and cost. You might also consider combining both approaches.
Why doesn't my tomato sauce taste good? ›
Boost the Acidity
Tomatoes are naturally acidic, but sometimes a jarred pasta sauce can lean too sweet, or just taste flat. Incorporating acids like lemon juice (and even zest) or red wine vinegar right before serving can round out your sauce.
How do you make store bought tomato sauce better? ›
8 Ways to Elevate Canned Spaghetti Sauce
- 1 - Extra virgin olive oil. Adding a good amount of a flavorful olive oil will go a long way in infusing flavor into your sauce. ...
- 2 - Fresh garlic. ...
- 3 - Meat. ...
- 4 - Hot pepper flakes. ...
- 5 - Red wine. ...
- 6 - Fresh or dried herbs. ...
- 7 - Cheese. ...
- 8 - Cream and/or butter.
Child's set included a backdrop for this very purpose, where she would perch at the end of each episode to dig in — and it was where she memorialized her famous closing line, which was, in fact, ad-libbed, just as portrayed in “Julia”: “Bon appétit!”
What is the secret to good tomato sauce? ›
Starting with good quality tomatoes and crushing them by hand offers great flavor and texture later on. The combination of butter and oil releases fat-soluble aromatics and gives the sauce a creamy texture. Slowly cooking the sauce in the oven creates rich caramelization without burning.
How do you make homemade tomato sauce taste better? ›
7 Ways To Make Homemade Tomato Sauce Even Better
- Reduction. Reduction allows a soup, sauce, or liquid to continue to gain flavoring and thickness by simmering on a stovetop. ...
- Add Tomato Paste. ...
- Add Salt. ...
- Add Sugar. ...
- Add an Acid. ...
- Add Some Baking Soda. ...
- Add Some Umami.
Olives and capers add a punch of briny goodness and give tomato sauce some real personality. Toss in some chopped or whole, pitted olives and/or a handful of drained capers after heating the sauce for several minutes. Or, if you're adding garlic or sautéed vegetables, add to the sauté just before you pour in the sauce.
Does tomato sauce get sweeter the longer you cook it? ›
Tomato sauce has an inherent dilemma: Long-simmered sauces have complex flavor, but simmering over a long period of time cooks out the very thing that makes a ripe tomato so special—its bright, sweet taste.
How to add depth of flavor to tomato sauce? ›
"I like to add roasted garlic, fresh basil, and sautéed chopped veggies like mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion into my sauce. This combination gives it a garden-variety taste and feel," Chase told Insider. Sometimes they'll also add red chili flakes or a drizzle of garlic oil to the sauce.
What does adding butter to tomato sauce do? ›
Add butter
Yes, that's right. Toss in a few tablespoons of butter, and let it melt into the sauce. If you've never tried it before, it might seem strange, but a little butter makes tomato sauce rich and smooth, and also balances out too much acidity, which is common in jarred sauces.
What dish is Julia Child most famous for? ›
Boeuf Bourguignon
Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe was featured in one of the earliest episodes of The French Chef and has become a classic among the many Child enthusiasts at GBH. In fact, GBH News host Henry Santoro concludes there's no better recipe for the dish.
Why does Julia Child's talk like that? ›
Julia went on to say that she had adopted her phony accent because she did not feel like people would accept her as a world class French chef if they knew where she was from and how she really talked.
Is homemade tomato sauce better than canned? ›
Jarred tomato sauce is purely a "convenience food" category at the grocery store. Finished product in a can is rarely better than homemade. Taste isn't the top priority--most people are paying for convenience & not taste.
Is homemade tomato sauce healthier? ›
Sure, it's convenient to purchase ready-made tomato sauce at the grocery store, but one look at the label will show you that many brands are high in sodium and added sugars. This easy made-from-scratch tomato sauce uses fresh ingredients and has no added sugar.
Is it worth it to make your own tomato sauce? ›
The one area where homemade tomato sauce really shines, however, is in the flavor department. Even when using canned tomatoes instead of garden-fresh ones, a homemade tomato sauce made with onions I sautéed myself and spices from my cupboard always tastes richer and more balanced to me than what comes from a jar.
Is it healthier to make your own tomato sauce? ›
No Strange Ingredients
Homemade sauces do not contain preservatives, sweeteners, colouring, enhancers, or any other unfamiliar ingredients. They are also high in fat, salt, and sugar. Instead, they are made of freshly picked tomatoes, basil, garlic, onion, and pepper.
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
Susan Bronson for Taste of Home
