Italian Salsa Rossa (Piedmontese Bagnet Ross Tomato Sauce)

Ingredients

Method

1. 01
   Prepare the tomatoes. For ripe seasonal tomatoes (the ideal): score a small X on the bottom of each tomato, blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer to ice water for 1 minute. Peel the skins (they slip off easily), halve each tomato, scoop out the seeds with a spoon — the seeds carry bitterness and excess water. Rough-chop the flesh. For canned: drain 800 g of San Marzano DOP pelati, reserve the juice, and rough-chop the whole tomatoes. Use the reserved juice to thin the sauce later if needed.
2. 02
   Prepare the soffritto vegetables. Peel and rough-chop 2 yellow onions (about 250 g total). Peel and rough-chop 1 medium carrot (about 120 g). Trim and rough-chop 1 celery stalk (about 80 g) — remove the strings if tough. Peel 3 garlic cloves and lightly crush them with the flat of a knife — no need to mince, the food mill will catch any larger pieces at the end. The cuts can be coarse since everything will be milled later.
3. 03
   Start the simmer. Pour 75 ml of extra virgin olive oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven (4-litre minimum). Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring every minute or two, until the vegetables are softened and the onions are translucent — but do not let them brown. Browning gives a caramelized note that conflicts with the bright vegetable character of bagnet ross.
4. 04
   Add the tomatoes and aromatics. Add the chopped tomatoes (with reserved juice if using canned), 1 tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of chili flakes (peperoncino), and another pinch of salt. Stir well to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low — you want a steady but lazy bubble, not a rolling boil. Boil-down concentrates flavour; boiling damages it.
5. 05
   Simmer 60 minutes uncovered. Cook on low heat for 60 minutes, uncovered, stirring every 10-15 minutes to prevent scorching at the bottom. The sauce should reduce to about half its original volume and become thick — when you draw a wooden spoon through it, the trail should hold for a moment before the sauce closes back. If it reduces too fast or sticks to the bottom, lower the heat further and add 50 ml of water. Total time including reduction: 60 minutes minimum, do not rush.
6. 06
   Add the vinegar and finish cooking. Stir in 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and cook 5 more minutes — the vinegar must cook briefly to lose its raw bite and integrate with the tomato. Taste and adjust: more salt if flat; more sugar if too sour (sometimes happens with winter pelati); more vinegar if too sweet (rare with seasonal tomatoes). Remove from heat.
7. 07
   Pass through a food mill (passatutto). The traditional Piedmontese method: ladle the hot sauce into a food mill fitted with a 3-4 mm disc, set over a clean bowl, and crank handle steadily. The mill catches any tomato seeds and skin remnants, garlic husks, and produces a velvety smooth red sauce of even consistency. If using a blender or immersion blender (less ideal): blend on low speed for 20-30 seconds maximum — high speed whips air, fades the colour from rich red to orange-pink, and pulverises any remaining seeds into a bitter haze.
8. 08
   Adjust and rest. Stir 1 tablespoon of fresh olive oil into the milled sauce — this final raw drizzle adds gloss and aroma the cooking destroys. Taste once more — the sauce develops as it cools, so go light on salt at this stage. Let cool to room temperature before serving (1 hour) for best flavour, or store in a glass jar covered with a film of olive oil. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm with bollito misto, grilled meats, polpettoni, tomini cheese, or as a dip with crusty bread.

FAQ