Spaghetti sauce

[Alix]

I found one for Spaghetti sauce that looks like it might be good. Anyone have a few extra pounds of tomatoes to get rid of?



Pasta Sauce

3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 pounds tomatoes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Bottled lemon juice

Prepare Ball® or Kerr® jars and closures according to instructions found in Canning Basics.

Cook onion, celery and garlic in olive oil, in a large saucepot, until transparent. Core and quarter tomatoes. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients to saucepot. Simmer mixture about 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Put tomato mixture through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds and peel. Return purée to saucepot and cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat until sauce thickens. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Add 1 tablespoon bottled lemon juice to each pint jar. Carefully ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rim and threads of jar with a clean damp cloth. Place lid on jar with sealing compound next to glass. Screw band down evenly and firmly just until a point of resistance is met-fingertip tight.

Process 35 minutes in a boiling-water canner.
Yield: about 6 pints.

For altitude adjustment increase processing as indicated below:
1,001-- 3,000 ft.....5 minutes
3,001-- 6,000 ft...10 minutes
6,001-- 8,000 ft...15 minutes
8,001- 10,000 ft...20 minutes

 

[Sandyj]

This recipe looks as though it would make a really tasty sauce! I saw in a previous post that several cooks here would never add sugar to a tomato sauce, but I don't mind. I think the brown sugar gives it a nice flavour, especially if only "just enough" is used. I would like to try this. I've never prepared jars for preserving and am nervous about that.

 

[marmalady]

Looks good, Alix - only I'd lose the celery, and add lots of fresh basil at the end of the cooking time!


I've done sp. sauce like this from 'scratch', then canned it - hubbie said it looked like there had been a murder in the kitchen!

 

[Alix]

LOL! I likely will get rid of the celery as my DH loathes the stuff. I have tons of basil so I think I will do THAT too. Thanks for the idea marmalady.

 

[Alix]

I've never prepared jars for preserving and am nervous about that.

Its really not a big deal. You just have to boil the jars and lids, then keep them hot (I leave mine on a cookie sheet in the oven) until you fill them. Give it a shot, I bet you will be great!

 

[Constance]

Tell you what, Alix, this roasted tomato sauce I've been making is killer, and all you have to do is freeze it in ziplock bags. I put the recipe here someplace, but all you do is half and seed Roma tomatoes and lay them out on a foil-lined baking sheet cut side up, cover with chopped onions, diced garlic, S&P and herbs of your choice. Sprinkle with olive oil and roast them at around 250 degrees more or less for about 4 hours. Put through a food mill, and it's ready to use or freeze.
I used to love to can...but time and age change all things.

 

[Alix]

I'd definitely do that for myself Constance, but I like to give canned stuff at Christmas. I put some of my own garden stuff in baskets and give it to my sisters. So they will get some sauce this year. Last year they got antipasto, and jam.

I think I saved your recipe for the roma tomato thing. I will have to look it up and try that. My tomatoes are going nuts right now.

 

[Claire]

My simple tomato sauce for the freezer (and I'm making a couple of cups every couple of days):

a baking dish full of halved tomatoes, seeded
1/2 very large onion, or one small, sliced
1 head garlic
S&P
drizzle of olive oil

all gets baked at 350 for 90 min. I have an electric oven, which retains heat, so I leave the tray of vegs in there for another half hour

When it is cooled, i run it all through a food mill.

This sauce is quite savory, but has the option of turning it to any ethnic cuisine when you thaw it. It's also pretty thick, which is the biggest (to me) problem with freezing tomatoes -- that they get watery.
Freeze in 1-2 cup portions.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Alix - the recipe looks good to me! But, FWIW, here's how XW3 (Brooklyn-Italian) did it ....

Replace the celery with grated then minced carrot. It totally melts away in a sauce simmered for 2 hours. As for the sugar ... I would again follow her lead and just use plain old everyday white sugar ... not sure if I would want the malaisas flavor from the brown sugar .... but I've never tried it so it might be okay.

Claire - roasting the tomatoes will remove a lot of moisture, make the puree thicker, and should solve the mushy/watery problem with freezing tomatoes.

 

[marmalady]

Alix - my tomato basil jam is great for gift-giving - look here:


http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11711&highlight=tomato+basil

 

[licia]

For the roasted tomato sauce, could I use the food processor since I don'thave a food mill? The recipe sounds delicious.

 

[Alix]

Ooooooo, marmalady, not sure how I missed that one, but it looks very good. Thanks.

Michael, brown sugar is actually better than white IMHO, it imparts a richness to the flavour of the sauce that you don't get with white sugar. That is just my own taste buds of course.

Claire, thanks for posting that. I think I will try that too. I never thought of doing it in little batches like that. That will certainly work with the way the tomatoes are coming.

 

[Constance]

Licia, you really need a food mill, as it separates the seeds and peelings from the pulp. I use the one on my Kitchen Aide now, but for years I used a fine colandar with a wooden mallet to force the tomatoes through. That builds up the shoulder muscles real fast by the time you get through a bushel of tomatoes. (Back then, I planted 100 Roma plants every year.)

 

[Michael in FtW]

Alix - you've got me curious now. I'm wondering if the brown sugar just might indeed impart a flavor component similar to the flavors developed in browning/caramalizing the onions and carrots first? Humm ... if so, that little trick would allow me to just sweat the vegs and then make up the flavor with the brown sugar - and save me about 15-20 minutes! I'll definately have to try this the next pot-o-sauce I make.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

This site is sooooo cool. As much as I know, every time I log in, I learn something new, or get a new idea, or get inspired to experiment with something.

It is truly a world where, the higher you climb on the mountain of knowledge, the more you see how much there still is to learn.

And from the looks of things, if the mountain is a mile high, then I'm about a city block up the slope.

Great ideas about making tomato sauce here. I've always used canned tomatoes for mine, as I don't really have the time at this point in my life for canning in quantity. But there will be a day... And this knowledge is tucked away, in the back of my brain for future use.

And I love the interaction, and watching little lights illuminate a one phrase or notion by someone, creates an epiphany in someone else. That's what this place is all about.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[marmalady]

I've used brown sugar like Alix, and she's right - there's just a subtle undercurrent of flavor there that you don't get with white sugar.

 

[Sandyj]

Absolooodle.

 

[Claire]

The food mill removes some (not all) of the tomato skin .... but, hey, I'm up for trying it. If my tomatoes continue to produce the way they are now, I'll try it and let you know. I use the food mill to get rid of the skin of the tomato, the garlic skin, and such. Actually a strainer and the bottom of a cup or big spoon would have the same effect. I grew up with peeling, then seeding, then stewing tomatoes. This cuts out a couple of steps.

 

[thumpershere2]

I made fresh spaghetti sauce this weekend and I used fresh tomatos. I use the hot water to get the skin off the tomato and then I just leave the seeds. I also add a little brown sugar as it gives the sauce a great flavor.Never even notice the seeds when eating the sauce.Removing seeds is to much work for me.I even leave them in for my tomato juice.

 

[Constance]

Roma tomatoes are so meaty, it's easy to get the seeds out..
I just slice them in half and pull the seeds out with my fingers.

When I run the tomatoes through the mill, I run the waste through 2 more times to get all the goodie out...you'd be surprised at the additional thickness and flavor you get out of those skins.