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August 22, 2007
Fresh Tomato Sauce
With all the fresh tomatoes coming out of the Farmer's Market and garden right now, what better to do with them than play a little? This fresh tomato sauce is simple, quick and very tasty. What more can you ask for from summer cooking?
What You'll Need:
6-8 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped roughly
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of dried basil
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6-8 cloves of garlic, minced fine
1 small onion, chopped
1 small package of button mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon of organic cane sugar or honey, optional (Note: This should only be added if the tomatoes are quite acidic. The ones I used for this recipe were sweet in and of themselves so I didn't add sugar. Give the mixture a taste and then if it needs it go for it.)
The first step is to cut the top off the tomato and squeeze the seeds out into a bowl. Don't worry if you have a few seeds hanging on. You're just trying to get rid of most of them.
Roughly chop the tomatoes and cut the stem end out of the top and pop them into a food processor or blender.
And remember as I said before a few seeds here and there not a big deal. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Process tomatoes until smooth. (Note: You can leave a few chunks if you want to. It's up to you. If you're going to be using this for pizza sauce then smoother is better. For pasta topping or lasagna you can go as chunky as you like.)
Add in oregano, basil, sea salt and black pepper and pulse a few times to mix. Set aside.
In a medium sized stock pot sauté onion, mushroom and garlic until slightly tender, about 2-3 minutes. Add tomato mixture and cook for 10-15 minutes to let flavors meld. From there it can be used however you like. (I made lasagna and saved some for pizza later this week. Nothing like making the better part of two meals at once! ;o))
Notes: You can add in whatever veggies you like in your sauce. Bell pepper would be good, perhaps some leeks. It's up to you! You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to a week or freeze to use at a later date. You could mix up the herbs and change the ratios. I just prefer more oregano than basil.
Posted by Dianne at August 22, 2007 8:44 AM
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