I must confess that homemade tomato sauce from scratch is something deeply embedded in my childhood memory. In fact I learned this recipe by observing my grandparents when in the summer I was spending time at their house. I have always been mesmerized by the magic of the process and today I will share this authentic Italian homemade tomato sauce recipe.
Homemade tomato Sauce is one of the main staples in Italian culture and cuisine. There are many ways to make Italian tomatoes sauce and in Italy every family as its own recipe.
In general when you ask an Italian about tomato sauce you will get into a long conversation about all the tomato sauce recipes as in Italy we like to aromatize the sauce in different ways. I recall in fact this was the funniest conversation I had with Robert, when we started dating. While he hardly tried to teach me how in US tomato sauce is usually classified, I believe that at some point he gave up. I assume he just learned how to trust my cooking.
What is the difference between tomato sauce vs marinara sauce vs Sunday sauce
A note on the difference between the classification of tomato sauce in US, somehow learned by Robert, my husband.
– Tomato sauce is a sauce that is cooked for longer time until it is thick, dense and develop a rich flavor.
– Marinara sauce is a sauce that is cook for a short amount of time, usually it is light and less dense.
– Sunday sauce is a tomato sauce with meat or meatballs.
But let’s focus on learning how to make an Authentic Italian Homemade Tomato Sauce!
Which tomatoes to use to make the best tomato sauce
First and most important, let’s talk about which variety to use for an authentic Italian tomato sauce recipe. To prepare homemade tomato sauce from scratch you will need plum tomatoes, the best quality for processing, canning and preserving the goodness of these vegetables. San Marzano is a high-quality tomato variety that has to grow in the Sarno Valley in Italy, in order to receive this name and the DOP symbol.
You can also use your own garden tomatoes, which is always a good way to use those extra pounds you might collect this month!
When tomatoes are not in season, you can use good quality canned San Marzano tomatoes.
How to make tomato sauce
In order to make homemade tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes, you need to start by washing them. The next step will be to make a X on the bottom of each tomatoes with a sharp knife.
Then you will blanch your tomatoes in hot and simmering water for about 45-60 seconds, until the skin is breaking. Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon and peel them completely. Once you have peeled them, you cut them in half and remove the seeds. You cut each half and 2 quarter and remove the white part.
Now you have two options:
– Proceed by chopping the tomatoes by hand, this my preferred method as it helps to get a thicker, chunkier sauce as Italians like!
-Use a food processor, until your veggies are chopped. This will turn into a sauce less thick and less chunky.
Heat some olive oil and add few cloves of garlic. Once hot, add your chopped tomatoes, add salt and sugar, which helps to remove the natural acidity of the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes a low simmering for 60 minutes covered, then in order to thicken your sauce, cook them uncovered for 30 minutes. Now your sauce is almost ready: you can transfer it to a jar by using a canning funnel. Now you can use it according to the recipe or you can consider canning it, in order to preserve the freshness of the summer.
The process of canning depends also on which brands jar you will use. In general, you sterilize in hot water for 20 minutes your jar. Then you place the sauce in the can through a canning funnel, then you close the jar. At this point you place it in hot water and let it simmer for 20-40 minutes. After this time, you will take out the jars from the water and flip them upside down. Let them cool down completely before storing them.
Storing suggestions
There are three ways to preserve Italian homemade tomato sauce:
– Jarring it will keep your sauce good for 8 to 12 months and ready to use for many recipes, that will still taste summer. This long time will be achieved only if all the canning steps are followed, including a proper sanitization of jars and lids.
– Refrigerating: you can place it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
– Freezing: you can freeze it and it will stay good, up to 8 weeks.
Variations
This recipe is gluten-free, suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It is packed with antioxidants and vitamins and it is low in calories.
If you want to add your own signature touch to the sauce, you can by using different spices and herbs when you will warm up your sauce to use it in different recipes. Here some suggestions to make incredible classic Italian recipe using this sauce:
– Adding fresh basil leaves will give you a great sauce for Pasta alla Norma or Traditional Italian Eggplant Parmesan.
– Chill flakes or whole dried spicy peppers, which you can use to toss a plate of spaghetti.
– Fresh or dried herbs such as oregano, thyme, marjoram: great to stew some meats in, for example, my Easy Italian Meatballs.
– Olives, cappers and anchovies that you can use in Sicilia-style Tuna.
– Meat or meatballs: try my Easy Italian meatballs and serve it over homemade tagliatelle, or spaghetti.
– If you add some sumac and zaatar, you can make Farmer’s Eggs with Sumac and Za’atar.
– Or you can just use this sauce for a yummy Crispy Chicken Parmigiana.
– You can use it to cook Ragu’ or Chicken Cacciatora.
Equipment
- jar
Ingredients
- 4 pounds tomatoes plum tomatoes (see notes)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar (see notes)
- 4 cloves garlic
- ⅓ cup olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
- Start by washing the tomatoes.
- Heat a pot of water on the stovetop and when the water simmers, take the tomatoes one by one, make an X on the bottom of the veggie and place it in the water.
- After 45-60 seconds remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon. You might need to do this in batches, so continue until you are done with all the tomatoes.
- Now peel all your tomatoes. Cut them in half and remove the seeds. Cut each half in 2 quarters and remove the white part.
- Chop the tomatoes and place them in a pot where you previously added EVOO and garlic. (see notes)
- Let it simmer for 60 minutes covered, then for 30 minutes uncovered. (see notes)
- Now you can use your sauce, freeze it, can it or refrigerate it. (see notes)
Notes
- From 4 pounds of tomatoes, I obtained 2 jars. Each jar old 2 cups and 1/4.
- Use possibly plum tomatoes as they are pulpy enough to obtain a thick, dense sauce. Alternatively, garden tomatoes are a good alternative.
- It is important to add sugar, as it balances the natural tomato acidity.
- To chop the tomatoes you have 2 alternatives, you can do it by hand and in this case it will lead to a chunkier sauce, Or you can use a food processor, which will give you a thinner sauce.
- How long you will cook the tomatoes, will also give you 2 different results: the longer you cook the sauce, the thicker it will be. The less you are simmering the sauce, the more liquid will be. It is up to your preference, many Italian recipes call for a thicker one.
- For storing the sauce there are few options: you can use it immediately, you can refrigerate it for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container. You can freeze it, in this case, it will last up to 8 weeks. Or best is to can it, following the link in the post.
Nutrition
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