Basic Tomato Sauce

I have not yet learned how to can vegetables at home - it's on my list of things to do "in all my spare time." If you plan to use home canned tomatoes for this recipe, you may need to play with the amount of sugar to add and the total cooking time. Canned tomatoes are one of the few processed food items I keep on hand. If you too have to buy them, look for organic tomatoes with a minimum of added ingredients such as salt and preservatives.

This sauce is so easy to make (it’s ready in the time it takes to boil pasta) that it is one of our frequent go-to meals on weeknights. However, because it’s so useful in other dishes—lasagna, pizza, enchiladas, “wet” burritos—and for packing a hot lunch, it is one of the basics I always have on hand.

Makes approximately 3 c sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced very small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c tomato paste
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 c red wine
• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes

Method:

1. Heat a saucepan over medium high, then add the olive oil and heat just until it shimmers.
2. Add the onion, immediately turn the heat down to low. Cover and “sweat” until the onion is tender, approximately 5 m. Stir occasionally, and don’t let the onion brown.
3. Add the garlic, tomato paste, sugar, salt, oregano, and basil. Turn the heat up to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato paste begins to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the red wine, and cook, stirring until combined and slightly thickened.
5. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 m.

Variations:

• If you prefer a smoother sauce, puree the diced tomatoes in the blender, food processor or food mill before adding or put the sauce through a food mill once it’s done cooking.
• In the summer, use fresh herbs (about 1 T of each), but add them toward the end of the cooking time, about 5 m before the sauce is done.
• You can vary the herbs used according to your use for the sauce—use thyme if you’re putting it on fish, rosemary if you’re serving it with lamb, etc.
• For Mexican dishes, eliminate the basil and add 1 tsp each dried cumin and coriander. In place of red wine, use beer or tequila. Optionally, add 1 T chopped fresh cilantro 5 m before sauce is done cooking.

Do ahead:

• The sauce can be made ahead, cooled to room temperature, then refrigerated in a tightly sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
• Once chilled, it can also be frozen for up to 6 months.

Learning more:

• Simple as it is, this recipe incorporates some of the most basic techniques of sauce cookery. “Sweating” vegetables in oil without browning them releases their flavor and softens them before adding the liquid.
• Allowing the mixture to brown (or “caramelize”) gives it a sweetness and a slightly smoky depth of flavor that would not be there otherwise—you can experiment with this by cooking the tomato paste mixture for different lengths of time before adding the wine.
• Adding wine (or other liquid) to a pan in which something has been caramelized is called “deglazing.” The liquid causes all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan to come off and become mixed with the sauce.
• Once the tomatoes are added, the longer you cook the sauce the more chance the flavors have to blend and the thicker the final product will be. Again, you can experiment with the length of cooking time to taste the difference.

Download Basic Tomato Sauce