Last week I had some tomatoes that were too ripe for me to put in the salad so I decided to make some homemade tomato sauce before they went bad. Making tomato sauce is totally worth it especially if you want to use it for any dish that requires a nice fresh tomato flavor.
I have to admit though that I rarely prepare tomato sauce myself… I not always have the time to prepare it and, for most of my recipes, canned tomato sauce works as good as homemade (although it is not the same, I know…).
What types of tomatoes should I use?
Any big, juicy, flavorful and ripe tomato will work for a nice tomato sauce. For this recipe I used Campari which are a bit small but they were ripe, ready and juicy; perfect for my sauce 😉.
If you prefer to use canned tomatoes, I recommend using whole tomatoes, as they are ripe when picked up for canning so they usually deliver a good flavor.
What are the basic ingredients for a homemade tomato sauce?
This time I made a very simple recipe with just tomatoes, onion
and oregano, but you can add other vegetables like carrots and celery or other
herbs such as basil or bay leaves. And obviously garlic, but we don’t do garlic
at home…
How can I use my homemade tomato sauce?
In a ton of recipes! Over plain boiled pasta with some Parmesan on top, in chicken tinga (a Mexican dish made with shredded chicken, tomato sauce and spices), in my vegetable lasagna, or in a pizza! The options are endless!
Easy delicious homemade tomato sauce ready to be used in a bunch of recipes!
Ingredients
Scale
2 lb tomatoes (I used Campari)
½ onion, finely chopped
½ tbsp oregano
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Instructions
Blanch the tomatoes: cut an “X” at the bottom of each tomato. Prepare a big pot of boiling water and a big bowl with ice cold water. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water and let them blanch for 45 sec approximately or until you see the peel starts to wrinkle. Remove immediately from the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice bath.
Peel and cut the tomatoes in quarters.
In a sauce pan, in low heat, sauté the finely chopped onion with a bit of olive oil for 10 min or until golden.
Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper to the sauce pan and simmer, covered with a lid and stirring occasionally, for 45 min or until you reach the desired consistency.
If you would like a fine, more pure-like texture, blend the sauce with a hand blender or food processor.
Store in a jar in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it for months.
