Start by concassé-ing your tomatoes. To concassé something means to peel, deseed and dice very finely. To peel, simply drop them in boiling water for about 30 seconds. The skins should slide off easily. Halve the tomatoes and remove as many seeds as you can (a few seeds in there won’t hurt anything). Dice the tomatoes as finely as you can without turning them into mush.

Add the finely minced onion or shallot to a small saucepan and sweat them on medium low with the olive oil and a pinch of salt until they are translucent, about 2-3 minutes ( we don’t want to achieve any color here).

Add the diced tomatoes, garlic (whole cloves, peeled), thyme, and a pinch of salt to the pan. Continue to cook on medium-low for about 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until most of the tomato water has evaporated and you are left with a lovely, jammy consistency.

Remove the spring of thyme and garlic (optional, I leave it in for the garlic-lovers) and check the seasoning. Add salt and pepper to your liking. If you happen to be making this with out of season or less than fabulous tomatoes, they might benefit from a pinch of sugar.