Make your own Easy Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce.
Make your own Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce, it’s easy! You simple can’t buy a ready-made sauce that compares with a homemade fresh tomato sauce. Processing spoils the fresh flavour of the sauce and adds in preservatives. And the best thing- as I said, it’s dead easy to make.
The ideal is to make this in season with home grown ripe tomatoes. I have used my San Marzano Tomatoes from the polytunnel. As they have more flesh and less seeds than a traditional tomato. But don’t despair, normal main crop tomatoes will do fine.
If you don’t have home grown tomatoes, don’t use shop bought unless you have a good farm shop close by. You can used tinned, but buy the best. I use Muti Tomatoes ether tinned whole or as Poppa which is produced purposely for making sauces.
How to peel (blanching) tomatoes.
So, if you need to remove the tomato skins, here’s how to do it.
Using the tip of a small knife carefully remove the core of the tomato about 1.5 cm deep. The turn the tomato over and make a small shallow cut through the skin. Repeat this will all the tomatoes to be peeled
Fill a medium sized saucepan two thirds full of water and bring to the boil.
Have a large bowl of cold water ready with plenty of ice added.
Take your slotted spoon or spider and lower two tomatoes into the water and cook for 10 seconds. When the time is up lift the tomatoes out the boiling water directly into the iced water.
Let the tomatoes cool for a few moments then lift them out onto a plastic tray to drain. Test one of the fruits to see if the skin will peel off easily. If its stubborn give the next two tomatoes 12 seconds cooking, but don’t go over that time.
If the skin is mushy and just slides straight off reduce the cooking time by a couple of seconds. Once you are happy, repeat the process with all the tomatoes to be skinned.
After the first have a dozen tomatoes, all that steam and dripping water you will be wishing you had a Moulin!!
The Best Kitchen Gadget.
My personal recommendation for making soups and sauces is to obtain a food mill known in kitchens as a Moulin. It’s one of my favourite pieces of kitchen equipment. They have been around even longer than me. And have been tried and tested in thousands of kitchens across the world. Basically, it’s a mechanical sieve with different plates supplied that dictate the finish of the food you are processing. Pop the food in, turn the handle and the finished product if squeezed out of the bottom. If you’re old enough to remember these were popular for making baby food years ago.
They can be bought in various sizes but a size of 200cm to 250cm will be fine for most people. If you are a lover of mashed potato a moulin is a must. Go for a slightly larger size.
I know you’re thinking why bother? Well by using the moulin it not only gives me my finished sauce consistency. It also filters out the skins and any hard pieces of tomato or basil stalks. This saves all the bother of skinning the tomatoes before cooking.
Whatever you do, don’t use a blender, it adds air to the sauce and changes the flavour closer to a processed sauce.
Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce.
You will need.
A wide shallow pan (not aluminium)
Spatula
Chopping board and knife
Medium bowl
Potato masher or Similar
Food mill (moulin) if available
If skinning the tomatoes.
Slotted spoon or spider
Med sized saucepan
Large bowl of cold water and ice
Plastic tray
Makes approx. 650ml.
800g ripe tomatoes
2 plump cloves of garlic
4tbsp olive oil
½ tsp sea salt
Large bunch of fresh basil
Black mill pepper
Optional pinch oregano
Making the Sauce.
Peel the garlic then cut in half longways, removing any green shoots visible. Finely chop the garlic (don’t crush) and add to the cold pan with the olive oil.
Treat your garlic with care.
It’s important to chop and not crush the garlic. Crushing the cloves will expand the flavour of the garlic where it will begin to overtake the tomatoes. We need the garlic to enhance the tomatoes not to dominate them.
Slice the tomatoes into wedges and place into a bowl.
Place the pan over a low heat and watch the garlic begin to sizzle in the oil. We are going to gently cook the garlic in the oil for three to four minutes to release the flavour. It’s crucial that the garlic does not burn, or your sauce will be spoilt. Even if you think you may have just lightly burnt it, throw it away and start again, before adding the tomatoes.
When the garlic is ready, add the tomatoes and bring to the simmer over a medium heat. Add the salt and a couple of turns of mill pepper, then pop on the lid.
Cook the sauce for fifteen minutes then remove the lid and crush the tomatoes with a potato masher. Don’t overdo it yet, we just want to extract all the juices from the flesh.
Add the bunch of basil, stalks and all and mix in. A pinch of oregano can also be added if wished. Continue simmering the sauce for about 15 minutes or so until it thickens.
Processing the Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce.
If you are using a moulin, set it over a bowl with the large or medium plate fitted. The basil can me removed if you like a pure tomato sauce, but I leave it in. You will get bits of basil floating around in the sauce, But I don’t mind that. Pour the sauce into the moulin and turn the handle clockwise. Use a spoon the move the contents around a little every 6 to 8 turns of the handle.
Once all the sauce is though remember to catch any sauce sticking to the bottom of the plate. Turn the moulin over and give it a scrape off. All the skins, and stalks will be held in the moulin and can be thrown away.
If you are not using a moulin remove the basil. Take the pan off the heat and break the sauce down with the potato masher until you are happy with the consistency.
Whichever method you use all that’s left is to check the seasoning. Ether reheat the sauce to use at once or cool the sauce over iced water before storing in the fridge. You can also freeze the sauce; I think it loses a bit of freshness, but still better than from a jar. It’s a great way of using up an excess of tomatoes from the garden
Why does my sauce looks pale and insipid?
Your tomatoes are just not up to the job. If when you cut them open they have a pale colour below the skin it’s a sign they have been artificial ripened and will lack flavour. Add some good quality tinned tomato (see above) to the sauce to help the flavour.
How can i give my sauce more punch?
Try adding a pinch of dried chilli flakes and just a dash of Worcester sauce. But don’t overdo it!
Can i use this sauce for anything other than pasta?
Absolutely, It’s great with vegetable dishes or used as a quick base for a curry.
If you want to use it with meats like chicken, try this.
Add one finely chopped red onion into the pan with the garlic. Use half the oil and cook the onions for five minutes over a low heat.
Add the tomatoes with 35g of butter a pinch of dried chilli flakes and just a small amount of basil.
Cook as before but use the medium plate on the moulin to give a smoother sauce.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
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