Since so many of you asked so nicely, I paid a little extra attention to what I was doing on Friday when I made what I think to be our last batch of tomato sauce. (And I'm grateful for the push to do so - now I won't have to reinvent my own wheel come next August.) Pasta is such an easy Winter stand-by for us, so I'm going to love having lots of this on hand to pull from.
This recipe makes for a chunky sauce, which is just how we like it. I use an assortment of what we have on hand for tomato varieties. This year, we've had a lot of Juliet's - seen in the basket in yesterday's photo (they grow so well!).
Tomato Sauce
(makes roughly 2-3 quarts, depending on the tomatoes you use)
4 lbs tomatoes, peeled and cored
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3-4 large cloves garlic
1.5 cups chopped red onion
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 cup firmly packed basil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- Puree one half of the tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Coarsely dice the other half.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot on med-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, and rosemary and cook until onions are soft, about five minutes.
- Add all of the tomatoes and the sea salt. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer, partially cover, and cook for 60 minutes. Stir ocassionally.
- Stir basil and vinegar in. Continue to cook (uncovered) until of desired thickness (I usually go another 30 minutes or more).
- Eat, Can, or Freeze!*
*If you're canning, I'd suggest using the methods in Putting Food By, or the basic handy Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. About half of mine have been canned, and on days where I haven't had the energy or time to do so, I've put them right in the freezer instead (in Wide Mouth Mason jars). A good Freezing FAQ can be found here.
