Tomato sauce
Serve as a pasta sauce, a pizza sauce or on grilled proteins such as a chicken breast or shrimp.
May be refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen in re-sealable plastic bags for up to 6 months.
- Total Time: 1h
- Yield: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 8 large tomatoes (this is a great opportunity to use up “soft” tomatoes that you have at home, or find marked down at farmers markets)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or any vegetable oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ onion, diced finely
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stemmed, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- S&P
optional ingredients
- 6 anchovies
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- ¼ cup olives, pitted, and halved
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Set out a large bowl full of ice and 4 cups water.
- Core tomatoes, then cut a small “X” at the bottom. Drop tomatoes, 4 at a time, into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove, and transfer to the ice bath for 1 minute.
- Peel off tomato skins (which should just pop off into your hands) and discard. Rough chop tomatoes and transfer to a large bowl.
- In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, garlic and onion. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until garlic and onion show first sign of browning. Add red pepper flakes, thyme, and any optional ingredients of your choosing (or all of them if you have them on hand), and stir for one more minute. Add tomatoes as well as any of the tomato water that has accumulated at the bottom of the bowl. Cover with a lid and cook on medium-high heat, for 30 minutes. Half way through, break up tomatoes with a wooden spoon and remove lid. Stir occasionally.
- Let sauce cool, then blend in a blender or food processor—or leave as is for a more rustic chunky tomato sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
