(photo: making the raw product: this is basically crushed plum tomatoes that are canned in the late Summer and is the base for my tomato sauce)
I've been asked by a few readers to post a traditional tomato sauce recipe and I've included one below that uses crushed, uncooked, tomatoes from our annual Fall tomato canning. Tomato sauce is easy to make and incredibly versatile. I use tomato sauce for pasta, other sauces, chili, etc. Making your own sauce is very easy, so don't purchase the canned variety at your local supermarket. Here's the quick recipe:
(photo: passato from Fall tomato canning, this is not yet tomato sauce as it needs to be cooked with onion, garlic, and herbs/spices)
Let's start with the ingredients:
- 1 large mason jar of homemade crushed, plum, tomatoes (uncooked) or 2, 28 ounce cans of crushed San Marzano tomatoes. If the price doesn't blow your budget, opt for canned San Marzano tomatoes from Italy (San Marzano and Cento both use tomatoes from Italy). The tomatoes I crush in the summer for canning are from plum or roma varieties from California.
- 1 large red onion finely diced
- 1-2 garlic cloves finely diced
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil (for sautéing onion and garlic, click here for a review of olive oils)
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried Oregano (if you can find the imported kind from Italy it will make a difference)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
(photo: simple ingredients for a simple tomato sauce: dried oregano from Calabria, garlic, red onion, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper)
Start with a medium sized pot with a lid - Le Creuset makes a nice 8.5 round casserole pot but you don't have to get fancy (any pot will do). Begin to heat your pot and thereafter (about 4-5 minutes later) add the finely diced onions and garlic (along with a bit of salt and pepper).
Sautee the onions and garlic until the mixture becomes translucent and, thereafter, add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil and then set your heat to simmer. Next, add the sugar, dried oregano, pepper, and salt to your pot and mix well. Let the mixture simmer for 35-45 minutes without the lid (you can keep the lid on but your sauce will become a bit thicker). You'll want to mix the sauce every 15 minutes or so. Some folks let tomato sauce simmer "for hours", but I haven't found that a longer cooking period increases flavor (what it does do is turn tomato sauce into thick gravy, which isn't very appealing in my book).
Sautee the onions and garlic until the mixture becomes translucent and, thereafter, add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil and then set your heat to simmer. Next, add the sugar, dried oregano, pepper, and salt to your pot and mix well. Let the mixture simmer for 35-45 minutes without the lid (you can keep the lid on but your sauce will become a bit thicker). You'll want to mix the sauce every 15 minutes or so. Some folks let tomato sauce simmer "for hours", but I haven't found that a longer cooking period increases flavor (what it does do is turn tomato sauce into thick gravy, which isn't very appealing in my book).
Once the sauce has finished cooking transfer the contents of the pot to a food mill; note, the food mill should sit on a large bowl to catch the processed tomato sauce (I like to do this in the sink so I don't make a mess). A food mill is a great, inexpensive, tool and it yields a perfect consistency for tomatoe sauce (and also opens up the flavor of all the ingredients). The brand I like is called, Mouli; I see this mill all over Italy and for $39.99 it's a great product!
(photo: the mighty food mill, a kitchen staple and necessary for any good tomato sauce; note you don't need to use a mill if, for example, you have excellent plum tomatoes during the late summer months. With a fresh tomato sauce, simply crush plum tomatoes (removing seeds) and cook with garlic and olive oil)
That's it, you're done with making homemade tomato sauce! Note if you want to turn the above tomato sauce recipe into a "meat sauce" simply use your pot to brown 4-5 pork spare ribs, 6-7 medium sized meatballs, and 4-5 links of pork sausage. You'll want to remove the meat after browning and begin sautéing the onion and garlic mixture. Add the meat to your pot after adding the seasonings and cook the entire 45 minute time period (the key with getting a flavorful sauce via meat is to brown the ribs, meatballs, and sausage well).
Related Links:
Here's my process for canning your own crushed tomatoes.
Here are some photos from our latest Fall tomato canning event
Here are some photos from our latest Fall tomato canning event
This looks wonderful! Thank you for the recipe. I can't wait to give it a try. Thanks for the links to the San Marzano tomatoes as well. I'll take your advice and get some from Italy.
A quick question about the meat. Do you only use it for flavoring, or after browning, would you cut up the spare ribs and sauges to leave in the sauce for eating?
Hi Jen,
What I usually do is serve the meat after the pasta, but I know many people like to have the meat with the pasta.
I usually prepare a salad, maybe another green, and the meat as the second course (this way you're spacing out the food a bit and get to taste more of the nicely braised pork / meatballs).
Enjoy!
P.S. Another tip is that you don't have to buy expensive parmigiano reggiano cheese for grating, try grana padano instead (it tastes like parmigiano but is much cheaper)!
Hey Vin,
I've never used red tomatoes in sauce, but will try. I use them mostly for salads! Thanks for the tip on the cheese. I've never seen or heard of that. Will look for it at Corrado's!
Maria
Might i suggest veal meatballs
Hi Vince---
Got to this post through the archives. Perfect sauce recipe! I do it the same way with the exception of we may throw in a splash of red wine or cooking wine to enhance the flavor. I like to experiment just to see if I can make the sauce taste a little better than it was before.
Great recipe- I usually buy the canned plum tomatoes and crush them myself- I use fresh basil in place of the oregano- never tried the red onion- I usually use regular onion- I have to try the red ones! I love using pork neck bones to make my meat sauce...a few pork ribs and of course some meatballs...great post- I better get cooking you made me desire pasta for dinner!
While admiring your photographic images and reading your description of the meal . . . I went back and noticed that the garlic (in the first image) still had dirt and stems on it. That is a true sign of love ~ directly from the garden of someone who used no pesticides and grew them with care. I'm so glad to see that you use wonderful ingredients!
ed hardy