Countless comfort food recipes – especially many for rice and beans – call for a small 8 ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Upon reading the labels on the tomato sauce sold in stores, you’ll notice that many brands seem to have some trace of “spices”, herbs, or sometimes “red” coloring. Plus, take notice of the shiny/gelatinous texture, which is probably due to preservatives. Making your own plain tomato sauce takes only 20 to 30 minutes, is as easy as boiling water, and is well worth the freshness. Tomato sauce also freezes extremely well, so you can make it in bulk.
I suggest using vine tomatoes for their high juice content and rich tomato flavor. Roma tomatoes can work well too, but save those oversized beefsteak tomatoes for sandwiches and burgers. For planning purposes, know that 3 to 4 large vine tomatoes generally yield one cup of sauce. You can easily streamline your cooking by making only what you need to avoid storing extra sauce. Sometimes I even use only 1 or 2 tomatoes to make just half a cup or less.
Plain Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 3-4 vine tomatoes (3 large or 4 medium)
Instructions
- Cut an “X” in the bottom of each tomato.
- Place tomatoes in a medium pot and cover with water just until submerged.
- Boil tomatoes until they are soft and mushy, and the skins naturally separate from the flesh (about 20 minutes).
- With a slotted spoon, remove from water and let tomatoes sit for 5 minutes to cool down. Discard skins and remove cores with a paring knife.
- Pulse the cooked tomato flesh in a food processor a few times (or crush finely in a bowl with a pastry cutter) to achieve a sauce-like texture.
- Pour tomatoes into a fine wire mesh strainer (or cheese cloth) over a bowl, separating the seeds and pulp from the sauce. Press remains in the strainer with a spoon or spatula to extract as much fresh tomato sauce as possible.
Yield: 3 large tomatoes (or 4 medium) = 1 cup
