Fresh and Saucy: End of Season Tomato Sauce
Get ‘em while you can…
Before tomatoes are gone for the season, do yourself a favor (you’ll thank yourself in a few months when you are longing for that delicious tangy-sweet tomato flavor and all you can find in the stores are red globe-shaped styrofoam replicas masquerading as tomatoes) and buy a big huge bag of fresh ripe tomatoes. Make a pot of tomato sauce, a relaxing Sunday afternoon activity, which you can then freeze and use in hearty winter pasta dishes when you’d rather be curled up at home than out in the freezing rain.
This is the kind of sauce that you almost don’t need a recipe to make. It’s versatile, flexible, and very forgiving. What you add to it is largely a matter of taste. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made the same sauce twice. But I do use the following recipe as a starting point. What ends up in the sauce largely depends on what is in my fridge or pantry at the time, whether it’s the simple basic all-purpose sauce here or includes such embellishments as roasted red bell pepper; fresh oregano, thyme or basil; dried red chile flakes, minced garlic, roasted garlic, mushrooms, or zucchini.
You can also use virtually any kind of tomato–heirlooms, beefsteaks, plum tomatoes, or whatever type you can get your hands on. So make your way to the nearest farmers’ market, or beg your co-worker for the rest of his tomatoes that he’s always handing out in the office, and get that sauce made before delicious fresh ripe summer tomatoes are gone for another year.
Fresh Tomato Sauce
About 40 ripe medium tomatoes
1 large yellow onion
1 or 2 medium carrots
2 or 3 stalks celery
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Red wine
To blanch and peel the tomatoes, fill a large stockpot 2/3 full of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Cut a small “x” in the bottom of each tomato. Carefully add about a third of the tomatoes to the boiling water, let simmer for about 20 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Blanch the remaining tomatoes in this way.
Peel the tomatoes, discarding the skins, then cut in half crosswise and squeeze out the seeds. Roughly chop the tomatoes and set aside.
Dice the onion, carrots, and celery.
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, warm a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions and saute until they begin to turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and about 2 teaspoons salt and some pepper. Saute until tender and the onions start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, a few glugs of wine, reduce the heat to low, and partially cover the pot.
Let simmer until tender and saucy, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste. At this point you can leave the sauce chunky…
…or you can puree it with an immersion blender (which is the way I like it).
To store the sauce, let it cool completely, then divide it between freezer bags or other storage containers and freeze.
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About the Author (Author Archive)
My life is, in a lot of ways, devoted to food. I've been a baker, a cook, a bartender, a waiter, a restaurant host, a restaurant critic, a food writer, a caterer, a food stylist, a prop stylist, a hand model, a food photographer, and an editor (all with varying degrees of success). I currently make my living as a cookbook editor and a writer. I'm addicted to cookbooks. I even have a (small) room nearly devoted to them. Well that and my baking table. I love British chefs. They are so where it's at. And they make gorgeous cookbooks. I love Fergus Henderson, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, and Anthony Bourdain (even though he's not a Brit). I cannot wait to eat at Kitchin in Edinburgh. Someday I'd love to meet Ferran Adria. I'm incredibly opinionated about food, and probably a wee bit arrogant (about food that is). I am a huge believer in local, seasonal, sustainable, organic food and a big supporter of small farms and artisan producers. I love farmers' markets, and not just the one at the Ferry Building. I feel very lucky to be able to live in San Francisco, and have access to such an incredible array of artisan foodstuffs, produce, meats and seafoods. I like culinary adventures and I'll try (just about) anything once. Some of my more memorable food adventures: digging a deep BBQ pit and burying a whole pig; roasting a whole pig on a spit; making a paella for 150 people over an open fire on the hottest day of the summer, but really enjoying the frozen margaritas that were handed to me; clam digging on Puget Sound; the Pig Dinner at Manresa; curing my own charcuterie; making beer that was actually quite good; and slinging spirits at St. George. (I'm finally starting to learn more about wine and spirits, in particular, Italian wine and Scotch whisky, two new loves in my life.)Subscribe
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