I love this over pasta, but it’s also good used as you would salsa, hot or cold: over grilled or poached fish, meat, or poultry, or even as a dip. Be sure, one day, to try the Spanish version (page 606).

　　

Ingredients

makes 3 to 4 cups

　　3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

　　4 garlic cloves, sliced

　　About 1 pound ripe fresh tomatoes (preferably peeled and seeded), chopped, or canned tomatoes, drained and chopped

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　

Step 1

Put the olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and, when the slices have colored slightly, after about 2 minutes, the tomatoes, along with some salt and pepper.

　　

Step 2

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break up and the mixture becomes saucy, about 10 minutes. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to several days (reheat before serving).

　　

Japanese Tomato Sauce with Miso

Step 3

A terrific sauce for grilled fish, just shockingly good. In step 2, combine about 1/2 cup of the cooked tomato liquid in a bowl with 1/4 cup miso and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and whisk to blend. Stir back into the sauce just before serving.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.