1slicewhite bread(crusts removed and torn into small pieces; optional)
Instructions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is boiling, carefully add the tomatoes 3 at a time. Let cook in the hot water for 60 seconds, then remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon. Add the remaining three tomatoes to the pot, and when the blanched tomatoes are cool enough to touch, peel off the skin. Repeat with the second batch of tomatoes.
Cut the tomatoes into eight wedges each. Melt the butter in a large deep skillet over medium heat. Then add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes, until slightly tender and golden. Add the tomatoes and the sugar, season with salt and pepper, and add the cloves. Cover and simmer, lifting the lid and stirring occasionally, for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have reached the desired consistency. If you want a thicker stewed tomato mixture, stir in the little pieces of bread during the last five minutes of cooking, which will thicken the sauce.
Notes
You don’t absolutely have to peel the tomatoes before cooking them in this dish (or other cooked tomato dishes), but it makes for a nicer eating experience. The skins are completely edible, but they will separate from the flesh of the tomatoes and interfere a bit with the silky texture of the dish. I recommend taking a few extra moments to peel tomatoes before stewing them.
Use tomatoes that are ripe but not mushy. Try any kind of big fat tomatoes, from heirlooms to regular garden varieties. I like red tomatoes, but you can use whatever colors you like.
In some stewed tomato recipes, you will see that a piece of torn white bread is added towards the end of the cooking time. This provides some thickness to the sauce, as the bread absorbs some of the excess tomato juice and binds it all together. Leftover bread, even bread that is a bit stale, is perfect. In this recipe, the bread is optional — if you prefer a looser stewed tomato mixture, leave it out. If you’d like it thicker, stir it in, and the bread will almost dissolve into the mixture.
If you're looking for more flavor for your stewed tomatoes, you can add more spices! This recipe also tastes great with a pinch of ground nutmeg or some fresh herbs like oregano and marjoram. You can even stew the tomatoes with a lone bay leaf in the mixture to get more flavor.