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Comment on How do I turn fresh tomatoes into pasta sauce?

Start by sauteeing some onions in olive oil, with tomato paste if you have it. When they start to get translucent add some diced garlic and cook for a minute. You could also have some celery and carrots in the initial sauté with the onions.

At this point you can put in the tomatoes, and cook a bit then mash them up, with some water if they’re not that juicy. Some people like to peel the tomatoes… That means put them in a pan of boiling water after scoring them on a few sides, and then taking them out after a minute or two and removing the peels, then putting them into the sauce. I don’t do this. I just remove the peels after the sauce has been cooking for a while.

Add some salt. I find them my sauce tastes a lot better if I add a quarter cup or so of red wine such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. If you don’t have that, some red wine vinegar helps to stoke the acidity. Sometimes I throw in some onion chunks, some mushrooms, and you should at some point probably add some herbs like garlic and basil.

Some recipes say to simmer for a really short time like 20 or 30 minutes. I prefer doing it for quite a while, like a few hours, which deepens the flavor and caramelizes the tomatoes for sweetness. One thing that I found I like is to cook it on the range in a Dutch oven for half an hour, and then put it in the oven at about 325 for a couple hours. That makes a really thick sauce. Just be sure if you do it on the range top to stir it often.

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treadful@lemmy.zip ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

Some people like to peel the tomatoes… That means put them in a pan of boiling water after scoring them on a few sides, and then taking them out after a minute or two and removing the peels, then putting them into the sauce. I don’t do this. I just remove the peels after the sauce has been cooking for a while.

You can also just fuck it all up with an immersion blender, too.

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- EggInDisguise@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  My partner has a sensory issue with tomatoes, and anything that has a chunk of tomato big enough to feel has to be blended into oblivion.
  
  Gotta say, I have started liking salsa more…
  
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Provolone@lemmy.zip ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Cut your tomatoes in half, put flat side down in pan. The tomatoes will cook in their own juices and after like 5 minutes the skins basically fall off. You can pull them off with a fork or something and then mash em.

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Lennny@lemmy.world ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
If you have a blow torch, use that on the tomato skins instead, then use a paper towel to rub the skin off. Not that it matters for a sauce recipe, but it doesn’t cook the outer flesh like boiling does. Great for pico and other fresh tomato preparations.

Or use cherry tomatoes and the skins become less of a problem. To mass cut cherry tomatoes, put your tomatoes on a plate put another plate over them and run your knife through the seam.

Oh, a small pinch of red pepper when you’re cooking down your aromatics is a great way to add more depth to your sauce. Especially useful if you don’t have wine on hand.

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- Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  blow torch!? Just blanch them and peel the skins lol
  
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l3mming@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Finally, some sense.

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meco03211@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Pro tip if you hate extra work and planning. Freeze the tomatoes fully. Then let them thaw a bit. Skins peel right off. This messes up the texture of the tomatoes, but is inconsequential for a sauce.

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moldy_rice@piefed.keyboardvagabond.com ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Huh, I usually don’t add tomato paste until the very end. Else it burns on the bottom of the pan

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- RBWells@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Burned tomato paste is delicious though. Burn it.
  
  When using jarred sauce I usually first brown some tomato paste in olive oil, maybe with an anchovy or two. Then a half bottle of wine and let it reduce. Then the jarred sauce and let it all simmer together while the pasta cooks.
  
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- zeppo@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Why would it burn on the bottom of the pan? You sauté with the other stuff, then it gets throughly mixed in. The way I learned was it needs to be sautéed a bit. I guess adding it later would work about as well, idk.
  
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  - PapaStevesy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    You’re right, it does need to be sauteed to get rid of the raw tomato flavor. The paste should go in just before the aromatics are done cooking, along with any spices or dried herbs being used. Saute for another couple minutes until the paste has darkened a bit and the raw smell/flavor has subsided, then add the tomatoes (or passata or stock or whatever).
    
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