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Homemade tomato sauce...

post #1 of 18
3/19/08 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Been googling them for a while and there are some decent sounding ones out there, but nothing too special.

I'm going to start making my own... 95% of the bottled sauces suck, and I'm done wasting money on them. Rao's and Hoopers are the only good ones I've found and they are really overpriced.

I want to do a long-simmering sauce with top notch, fresh ingredients- and I want it to have a kick. I'm thinking San Marzano tomatoes, ev olive oil, garlic, basil, red chili pepper flakes, a little onion, salt, pepper, oregano...

Recipes?
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post #2 of 18
3/19/08 at 4:20pm
For tomato sauces, there is no reason to simmer a long time. For Bolognese or other meat and tomato sauces, simmer for several hours. Here is a great recipe for simple tomato sauce. http://www.thefoodmaven.com/naples/filetto.html
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post #3 of 18
3/19/08 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 
That looks good, but I'm looking for a sauce I can make a lot of and freeze. I assumed the 'quick cook' sauces I saw wouldn't really work...
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post #4 of 18
3/19/08 at 4:26pm
No specific recipe, as my italian wife usually makes the marinara in our house. I handle nearly everything else in the kitchen, but that's one I don't touch.

She uses canned whole San Marzano tomatoes and pulses them in the food processor once or twice for texture. Cento tomatoes are a good value for the money. Onion, plenty of garlic, a bit of hot pepper. It's pretty simple. She'll also do a bouquet garni with parsley, oregano, and basil and will remove it at the end of cooking.

However, I can give you the following tips:
- a parmesan rind in the sauce makes it delicious.
- some recommend a bit of sugar, but taste the sauce towards the end before you add it, as some tomatoes are less acidic than others.
- a couple shots of extra virgin right before serving is good

Ingredients aside, it's all about the execution. She's given the recipe out, but it never tastes the same when someone else makes it.
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post #5 of 18
3/19/08 at 4:54pm
tomatoes, garlic, finely chopped onions.

Now the secret.
First, season some oil by frying garlic & onions in the oil. Discard garlic & onions and brown some pork neck bones in the seasoned oil. After browning, add the neck bones to the pot of sauce and simmer a minimum of 4 1/2 hours. Add a touch of sugar if needed. Pull out the neck bones when sauce is ready. You need to watch the sauce while simmering, it can loose a lot of liquid from simmering so long and become a bit thick. Maybe covering the pot is a good idea.
The sauce develops a very rich flavor.

Picking the meat from the bones is an extra benefit.

I use this sauce for everything. Lasagna, pasta, etc.
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post #6 of 18
3/19/08 at 4:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigbadbuff View Post
Rao's and Hoopers are the only good ones I've found and they are really overpriced.
Recipes?

I agree, Rao's is the best I've had from a jar.
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post #7 of 18
3/19/08 at 7:42pm
Check out some long ago recipe from Alton Brown on the the Food Network. We use his recipe and make a big batch and freeze it. Very tasty but some ingredients you would not usually associate with it, like carrots and red wine vinegar.
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post #8 of 18
3/19/08 at 9:07pm
This recipe is classic Italian. You can easily double it or more to make a large amount. Equal amounts of Sugar and Salt is the key to a great gravy. THe long cook time is needed to break down the tomatoes.


1/3 cup olive oil
1.5 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves (you can use more if be your preference)
1 2lb 3 oz (Canned Italian Tomatoes (You can also use fresh Roma tomatoes)
1 6oz can tomato paste
2 Tbsp chopped parsley (dried is fine)
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tsp chopped Oregano (dried is fine)
2 Tsp chopped Basil (Dried is fine)
1.5 cup water


Heat Oil - Add Onions and Garlic to saute for several minutes. Then add all other ingredients. I food mill my tomatoes prior to adding them to the pot because I don't like seeds. bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally.
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post #9 of 18
3/19/08 at 9:39pm
Add a bit of sugar and some black olives, anchovies and capers to a basic tomato sauce for some top grade Puttanesca. Serve it up over spaghetti with some fresh tiger prawns and slivers of good parmesan. Winner.
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post #10 of 18
3/20/08 at 1:13am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piobaire View Post
Check out some long ago recipe from Alton Brown on the the Food Network. We use his recipe and make a big batch and freeze it. Very tasty but some ingredients you would not usually associate with it, like carrots and red wine vinegar.

Italians use carrots in place of sugar.
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post #11 of 18
3/20/08 at 2:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sybaritical View Post
Add a bit of sugar and some black olives, anchovies and capers to a basic tomato sauce for some top grade Puttanesca. Serve it up over spaghetti with some fresh tiger prawns and slivers of good parmesan. Winner.

Ya, I love Puttanesca
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post #12 of 18
3/20/08 at 6:42am
Most of what has been said here is good. Definately San Marzano tomatoes- I live in Italy, so I can get them fresh, but some canned are good too. Certainly onion, garlic, chili. Oregano is usually good. I also like to add a bit of white wine to basic sauces. While more complex sauces require more complex methods and ingredients, a basic tomato sauce is more based upon quality of tomato than anything else- even a master chef would find trouble in making a good sauce out of bad tomatoes. That's why when you do find the right tomatoes, simplicity is best.
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post #13 of 18
3/21/08 at 12:36am
Don't add basil to the sauce if you're going to freeze it. Add fresh basil to the sauce right before serving after you've reheated it.

As for recipes, Rao's cookbook has a really good marinara recipe that takes only slightly more effort than doctoring jarred sauce. We also make the puttanesco and veal marsala from the book quite often, its a great Italian cookbook and well worth the price.
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post #14 of 18
3/22/08 at 4:02pm
I never ever add sugar to my sauce. That's like adding in baking soda. It doesn't need to be done at all. Three tips for a stellar red sauce: -Bay leaves. Get a fresh one or grow a laurel tree if you can, but the stuff in the stores is fine. -Add in an anchovy fillet or two. You will not taste them, but they increase the heartiness. -Like the anchovies and parmesan rind suggested earlier, adding in a little bit of soy sauce will also punch up the sauce.
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post #15 of 18
3/23/08 at 12:05am
I very rarely use any recipe when I am cooking a tomato sauce. It is simply a matter of deciding how you want it to taste and then using the the proper fresh ingredients and adding seasonings to taste. A good tip though that I just learned for the pasta would be to make the water as salty as sea water. I used to always just throw in a dash or two of salt into the water, but you really need to make that water salty. It gives the pasta a much more dynamic flavor.
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