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Sicilian Cooking

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Fresh Raw Tomato Sauce

(“Salsa Cruda”- “Sarsa Crura“)

This condiment is one of the favored sauces made in Sicily. The fresh ingredients are chopped into small pieces and the sauce used to make bruschetta, as a condiment for pasta, mixed into salads, to dress boiled meat or fish. One of the elements, the red hot pepper gives zest to this condiment and lets you regulate how pungent you would like to make it. At our Focacceria Palermitana, Joe’s of Avenue U in Brooklyn, we made this sauce minus the hot pepper which we served on the side. We used it for bruschette or it was served on the side with Cod Fish in parsley sauce, usually our customers covered the fish with it and dunked the bread in this zesty and refreshing sauce.

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup vine ripened tomatoes diced
    • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
    • ¼ cup of olive oil
    • ¼ cup fresh pecorino cheese diced
    • ½ teaspoon of oregano
    • 1 small bunch of freshly chopped basil
    • salt, pepper and red hot pepper to taste

    Instructions

    1

    Place diced tomatoes in a bowl – add some salt and set aside to let the tomato release its juice.

    2

    After a few minutes add the oil, garlic, oregano, basil, fresh milled pepper and red pepper to your taste.

    3

    Taste for salt and add some if needed. Add cheese, when ready to use.

    4

    Use sauce to cover toasted crusty bread or slice a loaf of Italian bread, toast in oven to the desired crispness and enjoy it for a snack or as an appetizer.

    5

    Double the ingredients if using it as a condiment to 1 pound of pasta.