Whether you’re got a last-of-the-season glut of tomatoes or you want to get ahead with some food prep for the coming weeks (or months), Batch Cooking Tomato Pasta Sauce is the answer. I use it for pasta, lasagne, stews, soups and anywhere else you’d use canned tomatoes or tomato sauce. Packed with flavor, it’s simple to make and tastes wonderful. This morning I spooned some over an omelet. Last night I added some garlic butter shrimp to pasta with parsley, basil and this sauce. It was quick and easy. Perfect for a weeknight. The beauty of this sauce is you can make a larger batch, freeze it and just thaw it when needed. When the months start to turn cooler, I’m like a squirrel cooking and freezing sauces, stews and soups to have on hand.
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This recipe is from my cookbook, Simple, Fresh, Delicious that I wrote and self published back in 2005/2006. The pics are now dated but the recipes are good. Still. And this is one I make a lot during the end of summer with fresh tomatoes and throughout the cooler months using canned tomatoes. It’s so good I just eat it right off the spoon.
This recipe uses about six pounds of tomatoes and yields about six cups of sauce. So consider that. If you’ve got 12 pounds of tomatoes, you’ll have 12 cups of sauce when it’s cooked. I freeze the sauce in two cup containers as I’ve found that’s a good amount for a sauce for most recipes. Store it in the freezer for up to six months. It’s a handy sauce to have for those nights when you don’t know what to make or can’t be bothered. Not being bothered, it happens to us all. Quickly thaw and reheat some Batch Cooking Tomato Pasta Sauce and toss in some pasta and fresh herbs, top with a good parmigiano and dinner is done.
It also makes a nice little gift to take to someone’s home when you’re visiting. Grab a nice gift basket or bag, add a bag of pasta, a block of good parm and a bottle of red wine and it’s a perfect gift. I’d love it if you brought a gift basket like that to my place. Just sayin’. Hugs and kisses, Lovoni xo
Use the sauce in these delicious recipes: Tomato Fennel Seafood Stew; Fig and Tomato Chutney; Rich and Creamy Tomato Soup.
BATCH COOKING TOMATO PASTA SAUCE
Equipment
- Glass jars or other containers for storing
- large pot
Ingredients
- 6 lbs ripe tomatoes (about 3kg)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil 30ml
- 3 medium onions, chopped about 3 cups
- 8 garlic cloves, minced
- 5.6 oz can tomato paste 156ml
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 15ml
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil over high heat. Make a X in the bottom of each tomato using a small, sharp knife (this is to make it easier to peel the skin off the tomatoes). Have a large bowl of iced water handy. Carefully place the tomatoes into the water in 3 to 4 batches. Leave submerged for 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon to the iced water. Let stand in the iced water for 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes. Peel the skin from the tomatoes starting from where you marked the tomatoes; discard the skins and remove the cores. Chop the tomatoes and set aside.
- Drain the water from the pot, rinse and dry it ready to use to make the sauce.
- Heat the oil in the same pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes until the onion is softened.
- Add the tomato paste, tomato, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper; stir. Bring the mixture to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes or until the sauce is thickened but still liquid.
- Spoon into freezer-safe jars or containers, leaving at least 1/2-inch (1.25cm) space for the sauce to expand as it freezes. Makes 6 cups/ 1 1/2 quarts / 1 1/2 liters.
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