Tomato based sauce...

[Huskers57]

Does anyone have any good recipes for a base sauce? I want to start preparing my own tomato sauces for my pastas because I feel that it'll be healthier in the long run and cheaper than having to buy store-bought sauces. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[FLAinCALI]

Not going to give you everything because...well the family wouldn't be happy.

saute in unsalted butter the same amount of chopped onions, carrots, celery. Add a few cloves of diced garlic. Pinch of salt and pepper...once it is sauted deglazed with a nice red wine. Let it reduce slightly.

Add in a couple cans of diced tomatoes and a can of or two of tomato sauce. Stir and add in oregano and basil. Let simmer for an hour or two or three.

If you have a wand blender you can blend it to a smooth consistency while it is simmering if not just blend it once you are done.

The tomatoes you use matter. Check the can and see if the canner addes sugar. Some tomatoes are more acidic than others, you can cut the acid down by adding paramsaen cheese.

I will let you play around with how much of what (if you cook much I am sure you will quickly figure out how much of what to your taste).

Let it cool and you can bag it up in quart zip locks and freeze it.

I will chop up and brown italian sauge (sweet and or spicey) than add the sauce heating it slowly than add in cooked paste. Ready to server.

 

[4evrHusker]

Not going to give you everything because...well the family wouldn't be happy.

saute in unsalted butter the same amount of chopped onions, carrots, celery. Add a few cloves of diced garlic. Pinch of salt and pepper...once it is sauted deglazed with a nice red wine. Let it reduce slightly.

Add in a couple cans of diced tomatoes and a can of or two of tomato sauce. Stir and add in oregano and basil. Let simmer for an hour or two or three.

If you have a wand blender you can blend it to a smooth consistency while it is simmering if not just blend it once you are done.

The tomatoes you use matter. Check the can and see if the canner addes sugar. Some tomatoes are more acidic than others, you can cut the acid down by adding paramsaen cheese.

I will let you play around with how much of what (if you cook much I am sure you will quickly figure out how much of what to your taste).

Let it cool and you can bag it up in quart zip locks and freeze it.

I will chop up and brown italian sauge (sweet and or spicey) than add the sauce heating it slowly than add in cooked paste. Ready to server.

Do you use a certain brand of diced tomatoes? Just curious, as I will be making some sauce this weekend, & I wanted to try your recipe, with my own tweaks of course.

 

[FLAinCALI]

Do you use a certain brand of diced tomatoes? Just curious, as I will be making some sauce this weekend, & I wanted to try your recipe, with my own tweaks of course.

I stay away from brands that add things like sugar and salt.

If you want to try some modification go for it. This is a modified version of my wife's family recipe. Her grandparents immigrated from Italy, they raised her so she grew up cooking all these old country italians dishes...I came along and improved them

 

[4evrHusker]

I stay away from brands that add things like sugar and salt.

Yeah, that makes sense. I will be looking at the backs of the cans this weekend. Thanks...:cheers:

If you want to try some modification go for it. This is a modified version of my wife's family recipe. Her grandparents immigrated from Italy, they raised her so she grew up cooking all these old country italians dishes...I came along and improved them

I do the same thing. I take recipes, and change them to fit my family's tastes. We eat a lot of garlic, too much for some. My recipes call for heads of peeled garlic, not cloves....

That, and fresh ingredients make a big difference in some recipes. Thanks again for sharing. :cheers:

 

[FLAinCALI]

If you want to try something a little different brown whole Italian sausages (hot and or sweet) remove from pan, than continue recipes from sauté and add in the browned sausages with the tomatoes. Remove the before severing to chop up and place on top for presentation.

 

[4evrHusker]

Go easier on the carrots. I put four peeled & diced carrots in my sauce, and I have to take half out because it was orange & tasted like carrot soup. I had added 5 heads of garlic - yes heads, not cloves - 3 medium onions and two cans of diced tomatoes. So, next time I am only adding about 5 or 6 baby carrots, diced.....

 

[Squatchsker]

We don't blend the diced tomatoes. We go real basic. 2 cans of diced tomatoes, a half a can of diced black olives, a couple healthy dashes of red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp of chopped garlic, 1/2 a diced onion. Assorted Italian style spices. Then just a little lemon juice. We keep it chunky style, not so much a sauce.

 

[4evrHusker]

We don't blend the diced tomatoes. We go real basic. 2 cans of diced tomatoes, a half a can of diced black olives, a couple healthy dashes of red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp of chopped garlic, 1/2 a diced onion. Assorted Italian style spices. Then just a little lemon juice. We keep it chunky style, not so much a sauce.

Is this personal taste, or so that it looks the same going in and coming out........ :rolfl: :spitdrink:

 

[MilesBFree]

Use San Marzano tomatoes from Italy.

This may seem like one of those overkill tips and people may scoff but it does matter. The Italians take this seriously and won't let their companies label them as such unless they really are San Marzanos, much like the French and champagne.

I couldn't get them for our traditional family Italian Christmas Eve dinner last year and people said the sauce was great but not quite as good as other years. (I took over the lead role on that for our family a few years ago.).

It will give your sauce a depth and complexity that plain old canned tomatoes lack.

And as others have mentioned, the ingredients should just be tomatoes, period. You will want to add your own herbs salt etc.

 

[MilesBFree]

Forgot to mention that I did use tomatoes last year that were labeled as basically being an American version of San Marzanos.

They are different from Romas.

 

[MilesBFree]

Oh, and add a small can of tomato paste too, for even more tomato flavor.