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Classic Tomato Sauce (Rajská Omáčka)
· 4 servings
Prepare the meat
Pour a little oil into a large pot – I like to use a big, heavy cast-iron pot. Brown the meat slices, which you've salted and peppered beforehand, on all sides in the hot oil, together with two roughly chopped onions.
Add water and spices
Pour in enough water to cover the meat. Add the spices, tied up in a piece of gauze so you don't have to go fishing for them later. Cover with a lid and braise until tender.
Tip:
If you'd like to speed things up, feel free to use a pressure cooker instead – the meat will be tender in no time.
Thicken with a roux
Once the meat is tender, remove it from the pot and keep it covered with a plate so it doesn't dry out. Let the liquid in the pot keep simmering – you should end up with about half a litre. Take out the spice bag just before thickening with the roux. Melt about four tablespoons of butter.
Sauté the onion and add sugar
In the melted butter, sauté the remaining two roughly chopped onions until nicely golden. Just before they're done, sprinkle in two to three tablespoons of cane sugar and let it melt.
Stir in the flour
Finally, stir in plain flour – enough to form a thicker paste, or roux. Mix vigorously for a moment, then whisk it gradually into the bubbling liquid in the pot the meat was braised in.
Add the tomatoes
Stir thoroughly, whisking if needed, then add the tomato purée or canned tomatoes. Mix again and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
Blend the sauce
Blend the simmered sauce until smooth with a stick blender, then strain and press it through a fine sieve. Give it one last taste and adjust the seasoning with a pinch of salt, sugar, pepper – whatever it needs.
Whisk in the butter
One more trick turns this smooth sauce into something velvety: simply whisk a piece of chilled butter into the finished sauce once it's off the heat.
Serving
Return the meat to the sauce, warm it through, and serve.
Tips:
Try adding a couple of cloves for extra depth – the sauce will taste a touch sweeter, but it's delicious! If you're making this sauce for meatballs, add the pan drippings from frying or baking the meatballs too – even the crispy bits of meat mixture will give the sauce extra character.