This recipe's inspiration was Chinese chef Susanna Food of Philadelphia. When we interviewed Susanna, we were struck by her lack of rigid culinary rules. She interprets the traditional Chinese palate with modern Western ingredients, boldly mixing balsamic vinegar with soy sauce, or rosemary with dried yellow soybeans. Surprises fill her books. For instance, did you know that fresh corn is used often in the northern regions of China?
Never seed tomatoes for this or any other sauce. Much of the tomatoes flavor is contained in its center, in the pulp and gel that surround seeds and even possibly the seeds themselves. The flavor difference is dramatic.
This is a basic vinaigrette only instead of being cold, it's mixed together in a medium hot pan, which intensifies the flavor of the tomato and the sweetness of the shallot. This is a great sauce for white fish, halibut or cod or tilapia (and would do wonders for the ubiquitous boneless chicken breast). But it also it works well with boiled new potatoes, salt cod, or a combination of boiled new potatoes, or other root vegetables, and salt cod or smoked trout.
This requires the least work of all the cooked tomato sauces. With this technique, everything tomatoes, olive oil and seasonings goes into the pot more or less at once, usually with no presaute and simmers until thick. Instead of the distinctively layered tastes of saute-based sauces, the simmered sauce is softer, more tomatoey and mellow.
Slow roasting requires rather little effort for the succulent results that are produced. It concentrates the flavor of tomatoes, leaving them intact but meltingly tender.