Planted wayyyy too many tomato plants, if that is even possible. Now I’m harvesting tons before they go bad. I’d love to make a big pot of sauce and I’m looking for a great (easy?), tried-and-true recipe for a light, tomato-y sauce, like a marinara. Something that would freeze well. (Please…don’t tell me to just throw stuff in a pot, I’m not good at cooking that way.)
I’ve got a whole big bowl of plum tomatoes peeled and ready to go (thanks to the Eureka thread and my soft vegetable peeler), and more (plums and regulars) to harvest…
Put them in a pot with some basal, garlic, and oregano. Simmer until soft. Mash with a potato peeler. Let simmer until a little of the liquid burns off. Salt to taste. Serve over pasta with veggies…like a pasta primavera with a light tomato purée. Yum.
Peeler? I just dip into boiling water 30 secs, after cutting a little X in the bottom, then place in a bowl of ice water and the peels slip off. You can do a large batch quickly that way. Also my aunt showed me that she just washes and bags them in zip locks and freezes, when they thaw the peels slip off. Good for sauce later in the year.but if you have some peeled already I’d rather freeze it that way. Sorry I don’t have a recipe for fresh sauce. But when you cut the tomato, let the juice drip into a bowl, you can strain the seeds, they can be bitter. You want the juice for the sauce too.
I find the easiest way to get rid of the skin is to cook the tomatoes with the skin and seeds–just cut them in half and boil them down. When they are soft, put them through a food mill. The food mill gets rid of the skins and the seeds as well. You end up with a really nice sauce. I either freeze the sauce in quart containers or I will put the sauce in jars and process them in a pressure cooker.
I have made and frozen about 4 or 5 Tomato pies. Yum. Made with Fresh Spinach, caramelized onions, a few different cheeses. I start with the store bought pie shells. Ree Drumond (The Pioneer Woman) has a recipe I’ve followed and then improvised on my own from there.
Not barging in, but here’s my FAVORITE tomato pie recipe - easy peasy and really, really delicious - I take it to my community garden potluck each year and it DISAPPEARS!!! http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tomato_pie/
Ie; I make individual pies using store bought pie shells and she does one large cookie sheet pan, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I enjoy following her recipes, even as a base to do my own thing. I also used fresh tomatoes from my garden, not the small cherry tomatoes she suggests. They freeze well & they’re great to eat on a cold winter day along with soups, salads or anything else!
I also make Tomato sauces to freeze for the winter from our tomato plants. I make them different each time, but we like the sauce chunky. I’ve added shreds of carrots to onions, garlic, basil and let that cook before adding in Tomatoes and other ingredients. The carrot add a nice sweet undertone flavor. Many times I add summer squash too, sliced real thin (shh, don’t tell my H, he eats it and loves it!)
I know you want to be able to freeze it, but try a batch of uncooked tomato sauce - it’s a really nice change of pace.
Uncooked Tomato Sauce
3 pounds juicy, vine-ripened tomatoes, preferably heirlooms, a mixture of varieties if desired, cut into 1/4-inch dice (no need to peel or seed)
3 Tablespoons good extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives (or your favorite olives)
2 Tablespoons small capers, roughly chopped (I don’t rinse them)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Put everything in a bowl and let the flavors meld. A couple of hours is good, but it’s really almost as yummy if it only sits around while you are boiling water and cooking pasta.
Serve with your favorite pasta and top with your preferred cheese (or not).
If you don’t have capers you can use a tablespoon or two of balsamic vinegar. Olives are optional too.
ooooooohhh! Tomato Pie sounds devine! Think I’ll make that up for a dinner this week. Really, it freezes well?
Finished with the sauce and soup (see recipies I used above). Had soup for lunch - DELICIOUS, though next time I’d cut back on the salt just a bit.
The sauce is good too. It’ll be really good over some pasta. Brought some over to my mom who raved about it. Personally, I think it needs “something” but I have no idea what (again, I’m not good at cooking to taste)…salt? sugar? parmesan? who knows.
