Homemade tomato sauce: a simple, traditional recipe
Preparing tomato sauce, or puree if you call it, is, for many, a ritual that is done every summer, when the tomatoes are ripe and stocks need to be prepared for the year to come. This activity usually happens during the hottest period of the year, and it is tiring to boil and then reduce lots of baskets of tomatoes into pulp - but the satisfaction you get when you open the bottles and use them later in the year, will be immense.
Everyone has their own method, perhaps handed down from earlier generations. There are those who use really old processing tools; then there are those who do the job using modern tools. But like all traditional recipes, there is no single, official version, but if you don't know where to start to make a homemade tomato sauce, you can follow the steps below:
Ingredients for preparing approximately 1 kg of tomato sauce (the measurements are really just nominal, and it is never a waste to make more, since you can never have too much tomato sauces):
- 2.6 kg of ripe tomatoes. Generally the San Marzano variety is recommended, but nothing prevents you from using any other variety you like;
- Water;
- Salt to taste;
- Basil (optional), to taste.
As for the tools, equip yourself with the following:
- Well sterilized glass jars or bottles to store the sauce
- A large pot in which to boil the jars
- A large pot in which to boil the tomatoes
- A vegetable strainer (colendar)
- A vegetable milling machine
- A couple of bowls to collect the sauce
Precedure:
- Wash the tomatoes thoroughly, discarding any that are spoiled. There are those who also cut off the ends and those who just remove the stalks.
- Put a pot of water on the stove (in which you will cook the tomatoes), and put the tomatoes into the water when it comes to a boil.
- When the peels begin to break and come off, drain the tomatoes and set them aside, perhaps in a basket or tray covered with a clean cloth.
- Wait for the tomatoes to cool down (covered with tea towels).
- Pass them through a vegetable mill, in order to remove the bulk of the seeds and skins.
- Transfer the sauce thus obtained into the jars or bottles prepared previously, and close well. It is useful to do this using a funnel.
- Put the jars / bottles in a very large pot, fill it with water and bring to a boil.
- Boil for about 40 minutes, so as to seal the containers properly and finish cooking the sauce. The sauce will not spoil when kept in the pantry, even for months afterwards. It might be useful to put dishcloths between the bottles, so that they do not bang against each other during this cooking phase.
- Remove the bottles from the heat and let the bottles cool down.
Some people put basil (usually chopped) into the bottles before pouring the sauce into them. At this point you can also flavor the sauce with chilli or other spices, to taste! Have you ever made homemade tomato sauce? What's your favorite method for making the perfect tomato puree?
