Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

  • 5 lbs fresh assorted tomatoes (or all plum tomatoes)
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 2 TBSP tomato paste
  • 2 TBSP fresh basil (or 1-2 teaspoon dried basil)
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Sauté onions & garlic: Heat your sauce pot with oil, then saute diced onions and minced garlic until soft (about 3-5 minutes). Remove from burner and set aside.
  2. Boil tomatoes: Then bring a large pot of water to a boil for blanching. In shifts, drop tomatoes into water while boiling until they begin to wrinkle and peel (about 2-3 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to remove tomatoes and place on sheet pan to cool.
  3. Peel cooled tomatoes: Use hands to peel the skin from tomatoes. Use a pairing knife to carefully remove the hard tomato core. Roughly chop up tomatoes and add to pot with the onions and garlic.
  4. Simmer: Add tomato paste and pinch of salt, let tomatoes simmer on LOW for up to 2 hours – stir often.
  5. Season with herbs: When sauce is finished, season with salt to taste, add a dash of black pepper, and stir in chopped fresh basil. Enjoy fresh or cool and freeze!