So, I made myself some spaghetti the other night, and it got me thinking…how does one make home made tomato sauce? I know you need to boil tomatoes, then peel them, but then what? Do you just continue to mash them up until they become a paste and say “Whoopie!” then add some seasoning and thrown them on your pasta, or do you need to add water/oil/something else?
So, I figured I’d ask all the cooks out there for recipes and directions on making homemade sauces (not just tomato sauce) and dressings. Thanks! And don’t worry, if I burn down my kitchen attempting to try it, I won’t blame you.
My friend Mot rented the video The Godfather, and by pausing and reversing, he wrote down the entire scene in the kitchen where one of the veteran mobsters teaches Don Vito’s son how to make tomato sauce. He says it’s a great sauce.
–Nott
By tomato sauce do you mean a suitable pasta adornment, or the stuff in a can at the supermarket? Well in MY humble opinion (hint)…
I just dice up a few ripe tomatoes (retain all of the juice!) & start simmering them in a skillet with some olive oil (the skillet should already contain a mixture of properly sweatted minced onion & garlic). If you want you can puree them in a blender but I don’t find this necessary at all because I want my marinara sauce to have some kind of substantial texture besides “Ragu”. What veggies you toss in as it cooks & reduces is up to the artist. I like sweet yellow peppers & scallions, but you could probably make due with almost anything lying around. Cooked meet & seafood is added in the last few minuts of reducing.
But please please please for the love of mother earth go easy on the oregano. Nothing makes a good homemade sauce taste like storebought faster than a strong oregano flavor.
The Amazing Fenris predicts that this thread will be moved to Cafe Society.
That said, here’s a good starter recipe:
Take a couple o’ pounds of roma/plum tomatoes. Rinse 'em and drizzle a little olive oil on 'em. Ditto with one or two red bell-peppers. Put 'em on your barbeque. Or under a broiler. Either way, you want the skin to turn black (you’ll have to turn the veggies a couple of times.
Once it does, toss everything into a paper bag and roll up the top. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
While the veggies are cooling, get a big flat NON-REACTIVE PAN* and glop in some olive oil. Chop up an onion and at least a couple of garlic cloves. Saute the onions. Once they start getting transparent, toss in the chopped up garlic. DON’T LET THE GARLIC BURN! It’s yukky. Remove the pan from the heat.
Take the bag to the sink and take out the tomatoes. DO NOT WASH THE TOMATOES OR THE PEPPERS! (You’ll wash off that yummy roasted flavor). Using your fingers, scrape off the burnt skin: it should come off easily. Don’t sweat it if a little burnt stuff stays on: it’s no big deal. Once everything’s peeled, cut the peppers in half longways and then chop out the part with seeds. Then chop up the remaining pepper and toss into the pan with the onions.
Chop the top off the tomatoes (to get rid of the stem) and cut the tomatos in half across the “equator”. Get rid of the seeds, roughly chop 'em, and toss them into the pan as well.
Add some wine (people will tell you that it’s crucial to use a really good wine. In some cases it matters. In this case, it doesn’t. As long as it’s drinkable, it doesn’t much matter. You’re getting it for the alcohol.) about, oh…a half-cup or so. Toss in about 1/2 teaspoon of the following dried herbs: oregano, parsley, and red-pepper flakes (the sort you sprinkle on top of pizza). Toss in a 1 teaspoon of dried basil.
Let this cook for at least a half hour. If you like smooth sauce (why would you? But if you must), toss everything into a blender and frappe the bejeezus out of it. If you want a chunky sauce (YAY), toss about 2/3ds into a blender and frappe the bejeezus out of it.
Let it simmer some more, another 20 minutes or so. You’ll then get to the part where this becomes art: you have to add salt, pepper and sugar. Add about 1/4 teaspoon of each and let simmer for 5 minutes. If it tastes…bland…add more salt. If it tastes tinny/acidic, add more sugar. There’s a balancing act going on and it’s gonna take time to get it right. It’s better to add less as you can’t take the stuff out once it’s in.
If you DO botch it, have a can of peeled chopped tomatos handy. Dump 'em in and allow them cook for 20 minutes minimum. Then try again.
Adding some fresh basil right before serving can only improve it.
Fenris
*IE: not cast-iron or aluminiumn one. Stainless steel is perfect.
sadly, i don’t do recipes well. i cook things by chucking things into the pot and seeing how they turn out. the answer is usually that they turn out well.
but here’s some i can sort of give you.
spaghetti bolognese:
1 can plum tomatos,drained, chopped up if you want.
1 small tin tomato puree
garlic
onion
minced beef
vegetables of your choice.
fry garlic, onions, mince in olive oil.
add veggies
add tomato products
add sugar/salt/blackpepper/red wine/worcestershire sauce/tabasco/basil/oregano to taste
simmer till it’s as dry as you like.
serve over pasta
garnish with basil.
for a good thai chilli beef (good enough for my flatmate to make me cook it 4 times in the last 3 weeks)
marinade mince with:
2 chopped chillis,
1/2 and 1/2 mixture of dark and light soy sauces, 3 drops tabasco, 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar,1 clove of crushed garlic, some coriander.
fry an onion, add beef mixture. stir fry til done. serve over rice.
if you have lea&perrins worcestershire sauce, tabasco, dark & light soy, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some green and/or red pesto, chillis, sugar and tomatos in your pantry you are limited only by your imagination.
go nuts.
Making the roux for a white sauce can be tricky, but once you get the skill down, you got me for a friend for life.oh, the gravies and soups you can make!!!
Heat pan add equal amounts of oil and flour.warm the oil first.
Fry thi untilll the odor of raw flour goes away. The darker the colour the stronger the toasted flavor will be so experiment. If you burn it, pitch it and start over again.be sure liquids added to the roux are warmed.
At this point you can either brown it longer for other sauces or add warmed milk/cream for a basic white sauce.
Cheeses added now are kicking on chicken.Your basic Alphredo.
A thinnner white sauce also gets quickly turned into a cream soup with the addition of a veggie puree.
Chiken and fish use a longer browned roux, and beef browner yet.