Homemade Tomato Sauce
When life (or your garden) gives you lots of tomatoes, you make tomato sauce! Homemade tomato sauce is so simple to make and has a depth of flavor you just can’t match in a can. Think of those rich, thick tomatoes, that sweet sensuous taste coupled with a hint of garlic and onion to round it out and, man, your tastebuds will dance! This tomato sauce is the PERFECT base for a soup, or really any Italian/Mexican/Indian dish that utilizes a tomato based sauce.
So check this out…. just get yourself a boatload of tomatoes from your garden, or the farmer’s market or the supermarket – wherever you can find luscious tasty ripe ones – and toss the whole lot of them cored and cut into quarters in a large saucepan. Add a couple onions, a head of garlic cloves and some salt and cook til they’re soft.
A simple puree with an immersion/stick blender and you’re done! Easy peasy. Look at this fancy swirly action food photo….
After blending, you’ll have a beautiful, nutritious, homemade tomato sauce perfect for your next cooking task. You can certainly can the sauce, or I usually just freeze it since I use it so fast. Plus, freezing is easier if you have the freezer space. It’s a bit liquidy (not an official word, I know) which makes it awesome for soups. If you need it thicker for, say, a marinara sauce, cook it longer until it condenses a bit or add some tomato paste to thicken it up.
- 10-12 pounds tomatoes, cored and quartered (this does not need to be exact, just fill up your stock pot nearly to the top!)
- 2 medium onions, quartered
- 1 head of garlic, cloves peeled
- 1 tablespoon pink himalayan salt (or optional to taste)
- Place all ingredients in a large (like 8 quart) stockpot.
- Stirring occasionally, cook on medium heat until garlic and onions are softened.
- Puree until smooth.
Sauce can be frozen or canned.
To can via water bath, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice to each pint or 2 Tbsp lemon juice to quarts. Fill sterile jars with sauce to ½" headspace. Wipe rim, add lid and ring until finger tight. Submerge in boiling water 35 minutes for pints, 40 minutes for quarts. Let cool for 12-24 hours and be sure each jar has sealed before storing.
Yield will vary on how long you cook the sauce.
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