It’s that time of year when I’ve always got a pot of sauce simmering on the stove. This past week, I made farm fresh tomato sauce three times. One batch for a bunch of hungry teens, another to break in my friend Debbie’s new kitchen and another batch for the freezer.
I’ve got the process down to a science and I’m going to share my tips with you now.
First, you should never use premium tomatoes. And what I mean by that is the ones you spend top dollar on. Most farm stands or farmers’ markets will sell what they call “seconds” for a bargain price. These slightly bruised or overripe tomatoes are actually even better than the full price ones. Just to give you an idea of cost, I spent $6.00 on three baskets of tomatoes (probably around 7-8 pounds). The best market around here to shop for bargain ingredients — garlic ($5 for about 6 heads), fresh basil ($1 a bunch) and second tomatoes ($6.00 for a basket) — is the Paterson Farmers’ market. You can’t beat the prices or the freshness. I’m a regular at my favorite farm stand and sometimes get a call from them when they’ve got tomatoes for me.
Don’t be picky with your tomatoes. They don’t have to be plum tomatoes, the big beefy kind work just as well. Plus you can use a variety of colors.
My second trick is to score and blanch your tomatoes in boiling water for a few minutes so that you can easily remove the skins and seeds. There’s no fancy tool for this other than your hands — of course once the tomatoes have cooled some.
The next thing I do which most people don’t is use a wide, open semi-deep pot. Picture a deeper paella pan. There’s something about the design of a deep dish pot which allows the flavors to combine as it simmers.
I use a good amount of olive oil, at least one whole head (not clove!) of garlic smashed and chopped, 8 pounds of tomatoes, a good quality sea salt and a few teaspoons of sugar to neutralize the sauce. Finally, the sauce should simmer and thicken as the on a low heat for hours.
- 5-8 pounds tomatoes overripe, farm fresh
- 1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin, good quality
- 1 head fresh garlic 10 cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt good quality
- 1 bunch basil washed, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional (if you want it spicy)
- 1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. 2) Using a knife, score each tomato with a small x. 3) Drop tomatoes “about 6 at a time “into the water to loosen the skin. Keep in the water for about 3-4 minutes. Remove, cool and repeat the process. 4) Once cooled, use your hands to remove the seeds and skin from the tomato placing seeds and skins in one bowl and flesh in another. Squish the fleshy part of the tomatoes with your hands to break up the tomatoes. Once finished, begin to make sauce. (And if you have a tomato press, place the seeds and skins through to get more sauce. Sometimes you can press through a sieve as well.) 5) Heat a large open and deep skillet with 1/4 cup olive oil. 6) Add the chopped garlic and cook for a minute or two over medium high heat before adding the tomatoes. 7) Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and basil. 8) Bring to a rapid boil on a high heat and cook for about ten minutes. 9) Turn heat down and cook uncovered for about 90 minutes to two hours on a medium high heat until sauce thickens. Add the fresh basil at the end of the cooking time. 10) Cool and then package in airtight containers and freeze until ready to use!
Alison, there are some really great tips in this recipe! Thanks for such a useful, timely recipe!Suz
I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious!! I can’t wait to make it again!