Email to Cat      

Recipe Categories: Catgurrl's HOME PAGEAppetizers Barbecue-Grill Bath-Body Beverages Bread Breakfast-Brunch Brownies-Bars Burgers Butters-Spreads Cajun-Creole Cakes-Tortes Campfire Candy Canning-Preserving CarnivalFare Casseroles Cats-Mewsings Cheesecake Chili ComfortFood Condiments Cookies Cooking-For-Two Crockpot Desserts Economical Ethnic Fish-Shellfish Fix-and-Freeze Food-As-Medicine Fruit GameDay Gifts Holiday IceCream Kid-Approved KitchenAid Lowfat LunchCounter MainDish Marinades-Rubs Meats Miscellaneous Muffins PacificNorthwest Pasta Pastries Pets PicnicBasket Pies-Tarts Pizza Poultry Quick-n-Easy Relishes-Salsa Rice Salad-n-Dressing Sandwiches Sauces Snacks SoulFood Soup-Chowder SouthernFavorites SpecialEvents Tips-and-Tricks Vegetables-Sides Vegetarian WildGame YourComments

Basic Tomato Sauce




Source of Recipe


Adapted from "Can I Freeze It?" by Susie Theodorou






List of Ingredients



• 4 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
  
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
  
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste with 1 teaspoon sea salt
  
• 4 large basil or rosemary sprigs
  
• 3 large flat-leaf parsley sprigs
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  
• 2 tsp brown sugar (if necessary)
  






Instructions



1. Whirl tomatoes in food processor, one can at a time, and process until smooth. Strain through sieve, discarding any skins and seeds. Place tomatoes, olive oil, shallots, garlic and herbs in a pot. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until reduced to 12 cups. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding the sugar if necessary.
   
   TO FREEZE:
   Allow sauce to cool completely to room temperature, then divide among freezer-safe containers or six 1-quart plastic freezer bags. Freeze. To use bags, fill each with about 2 cups of sauce, making it about half-full. Freeze flat until solid, about 1 hour. When solid, store more compactly in the freezer.
   
   TO THAW:
   Thaw bags of sauce completely immersed in bowl of cold water, about 1½ hours to partially thaw. Or thaw the containers or plastic bags in refrigerator for about 4 hours. You do not have to completely thaw the sauce before you heat it.
   
   TO SERVE:
   Transfer thawed sauce to pot, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. If sauce is only partially thawed, simmer for an extra 5 minutes.
   
   Makes 12 cups.
   






Final Comments


This sauce can be used as the base for tomato soup or a simple sauce for pasta or meatballs. For a pasta bake, layer the sauce with cooked pasta shells, meatballs, and thinly sliced mozzarella, then bake in a casserole until cheese is browned, about 30 minutes.