Tuesday, October 19, 2010

My very own tomato sauce

For years, Brandon has asked me to make tomato sauce from scratch.  Every time he asked, I rolled my eyes and asked, "why would I make my own when it is so simple to just buy it from the store?"  I felt like I had better things to do with my time.
Well, ever since I have been on this health kick-thing, I realized that pre-made tomato sauce is incredibly high in sodium.  I suppose the companies have to use sodium to preserve the tomatoes, but it can get pretty ridiculous, some having upwards of 30% of your daily need in one serving.
As some of you know, I am half-Italian and was raised on Italian cuisine. So, the likelihood of ridding my diet of tomato sauce is next to impossible.  After looking over several sauce recipes, I have created my own concoction that I am ready to share with my readers. Although making my own sauce is much more difficult than just opening a jar, the taste is far superior and I feel happy to know some of my favorite dishes are contributing towards my health rather than a detriment.  

The finished product
 
Ingredients:
10 medium Tomatoes (I used a combination of Roma, Cherry, and Globe)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
8 oz. mushrooms, diced
2 medium zucchinis, diced
1 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Basil
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 Bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 small can tomato paste
Canning jars as needed
Directions:
Boil a large pot of water.  Once boiling, place all tomatoes in the water and let sit for about five minutes.  Once skin is starting to peel, place tomatoes in a bowl of ice water.  Leave in water until able to peel tomato skin with bare hands (and remove seeds if you so choose).  Chop the peeled tomatoes into small pieces and then place them in a food processor/blender.  Blend until smooth.  Place tomato blend into a large pot and begin to heat on medium.  Meanwhile, in a larger skillet add oil, butter, garlic, onion, mushroom, and zucchini.  Cook for about 5 minutes on high heat.  Once onion is translucent, add vegetable mixture to the tomato sauce pot.  Then add the pepper, basil, Italian seasoning, bay leaf, red wine, and sugar to the pot.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Then stir in tomato paste.  Turn heat to lowest setting and allow to simmer for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally.  Can sauce once cooked through and partially cooled (should make about two jars).

3 comments:

BLP said...

See, I'm not crazy after all. You could have been saving yourself all that sodium for a long time :)

Lauren said...

Yeah, I know how concerned you are about our sodium intake (rolling eyes right now).

Heidi said...

ooooh, I will have to try this one; thanks :-)