Homemade Pasta Sauce is so much better than the kinds you find at your local food market and it’s not that hard to make. The fresh ingredients really help to bring out the flavor and I always use the best tomatoes I can find. I look to the label for the least ingredients possible when using canned tomatoes (San Marzano are my preference) or I use fresh. You can “tweek” the flavors to your liking. I make this basic tomato sauce in big batches and use it in a variety of dishes. I freeze the extra. So … channel those Italian vibes and let’s get cookin!
Ingredients
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion Chopped
4 large cloves of Garlic
1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon Pepper
2 - 28 ounce cans whole plum or Roma Tomatoes, including their juices. ( I prefer San Marzano).
½ cup Fresh Basil roughly torn
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
¼ cup Maple Syrup
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
Add the chopped onions and season with salt and pepper.
Stir occasionally until the onions are translucent (about 8 minutes).
Add the garlic to the onions and cook 1 to 2 minutes and stir until the garlic is soft.
Add the Tomatoes and their juices, Basil, Nutmeg, Red Pepper Flakes and Maple Syrup to the onion mixture and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat for about 30 to 45 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
Tomato sauce can burn easily – Stir it often and keep the heat low.
When the sauce has thickened, you can pass it through a food mill or use an immersion blender to smooth out the sauce. (Remember to let the sauce cool to room temperature before using the food mill or immersion blender).
If you like it chunky you can use a food masher and mash the tomatoes until they are broken into small pieces.
Use the sauce or transfer it into an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
**If you want to use fresh tomatoes from your garden you will need to blanch them to remover the skin.**
Blanching Tomatoes
Score the tomatoes with and x on the bottom.
Place them into a boiling pot of water for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove them and put them into an ice bath until their cool enough to handle them.
Remove the skin (it should pull right off).
Cut the peeled tomatoes in half and remove the core.
Use your finger to remove the seeds.
Chop them into medium pieces and place them and their juices into the sauce pan as directed above.
I usually use a combination of fresh and canned tomatoes. (1 - 28 ounce can and 5 to 6 large, fresh tomatoes).
Enjoy! - Pam
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