What to do with lots of tomatoes??? Well, make some delicious pasta sauce! I also made plenty of salsa (& the previously posted roasted tomatoes). Salsa will be posted next! In the meantime, here’s how to make yummy simple pasta sauce:
BASIC PASTA SAUCE
-A lot of tomatoes
-Bay leaf
-Green bell peppers
-Onions
-Garlic
-Fresh basil, thyme, and oregano
-Salt and pepper
***You can experiment by adding other vegetables, ground meat, and/or add some spice to this basic recipe
1) Chop the tomatoes into chunks (if you’re using sub-par tomatoes cut off the bad parts and discard).
2) Run the chopped tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins, this is now basic tomato sauce.
3) Put all sauce into a large pot, put on medium-low heat and boil-down to thicken the sauce (this will take several hours). Place 1-2 bay leafs in sauce to add extra flavor. While it’s boiling-down, skim off any frothy stuff on top and discard, stir occasionally.
4) In the meantime, chop up the green bell peppers and onions and set aside in one bowl. Mince the garlic and chop the thyme and oregano and place in another bowl. Chop up basil and place in a third bowl.
5) When the sauce is almost to your desired thickness add in the minced garlic and chopped oregano and thyme. Stir these in.
6) Now caramelize the chopped peppers and onions in a pan with some olive oil and then add these to the sauce.
7) Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to let sauce boil down about another hour. (At this point you should get your hot water bath canner prepared and start to boil the water).
8) When the sauce is just right add the chopped basil, stir, and allow to cook while you prepare your sterilized jars and lids for canning.
9) Ladle the hot pasta sauce into jars and screw lids on. Process in a hot water bath for 45 minutes.
BASIC PASTA SAUCE
-A lot of tomatoes
-Bay leaf
-Green bell peppers
-Onions
-Garlic
-Fresh basil, thyme, and oregano
-Salt and pepper
***You can experiment by adding other vegetables, ground meat, and/or add some spice to this basic recipe
1) Chop the tomatoes into chunks (if you’re using sub-par tomatoes cut off the bad parts and discard).
2) Run the chopped tomatoes through a food mill to remove the seeds and skins, this is now basic tomato sauce.
3) Put all sauce into a large pot, put on medium-low heat and boil-down to thicken the sauce (this will take several hours). Place 1-2 bay leafs in sauce to add extra flavor. While it’s boiling-down, skim off any frothy stuff on top and discard, stir occasionally.
4) In the meantime, chop up the green bell peppers and onions and set aside in one bowl. Mince the garlic and chop the thyme and oregano and place in another bowl. Chop up basil and place in a third bowl.
5) When the sauce is almost to your desired thickness add in the minced garlic and chopped oregano and thyme. Stir these in.
6) Now caramelize the chopped peppers and onions in a pan with some olive oil and then add these to the sauce.
7) Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to let sauce boil down about another hour. (At this point you should get your hot water bath canner prepared and start to boil the water).
8) When the sauce is just right add the chopped basil, stir, and allow to cook while you prepare your sterilized jars and lids for canning.
9) Ladle the hot pasta sauce into jars and screw lids on. Process in a hot water bath for 45 minutes.