Some of you are getting ready to start your crop of tomatoes from seeds as we head into Spring and here we are publishing a post about how to use the end product. The truth is this one got lost in the shuffle after last year’s growing season. The good news is most of you can find tomatoes year round at your local supermarket so we dusted this one off before it got overlooked once more. Homemade Pomodoro Sauce is not a daunting all day affair. In fact, it’s simple enough to make any day of the week. If you find yourself with an abundance of tomatoes this is a great place to use them up. Even better, this homemade pomodoro sauce freezes well!
A lot of folks seem to think the giant stock pot depicted in every Italian mafia movie that Nonna spends all day tending to is the only way to make sauce. This is no daunting all day task. In fact, it’s done in 40 minutes! We speed things up with a blender.
Last note… Pomodoro (Italian for tomato) is offten confused with marinara. While similar, pomodoro is thicker but smoother in texture. Let’s get to it.
Preparation: Homemade Pomodoro Sauce
There’s three steps to this: blanching the tomatoes, blending, and then making the sauce with the remaining ingredients. About 15 – 20 tomatoes will make this batch which is plenty to toss with your favorite pasta. If the supermarket is your garden grab the tomatoes of your choice. Larger slicing tomatoes will have more water and seeds, Roma (or plum) tomatoes will have less water content and seeds. The ones we used were a mixture of surplus tomatoes from our garden so it can be done with whatever you have on hand.
To blanch the tomatoes, bring a pot of water to a boil. On the bottom of each tomato use a knife to make a gentle “X” in each tomato, just cutting through the skin (this will help them peel).
Working in batches boil the tomatoes until the skin starts to detach from each one. Place in an ice bath and repeat until all tomatoes are ready to peel.
Carefully peel the cooled tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a skillet. Cook the garlic and onion mixture for 8 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (avoid burning the garlic).
Pour in the blended tomatoes, stir in half the torn basil, and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Finish with remaining torn basil. Use immediately or cool and jar for later use.
Some quick notes:
- Does this freeze well? Yes! It will also taste amazing as a make ahead for the next night’s favorite pasta pairing.
- Can I used canned tomatoes? Another yes. We wrote this up as a way to use up surplus garden tomatoes but a couple of cans of San Marzano tomatoes will make a wonderful sauce and you’ll avoid the blanching step.
- Do I have to blend the tomatoes? No, this step is optional and makes a smoother texture more common for a pomodoro. It also speeds up the process. Rather than cooking down tomatoes you don’t need as much stove time. This means you can make this on a busy weeknight and still have fresh sauce!
Equipment: Homemade Pomodoro Sauce
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If you liked that, try this…
- Lamb and Turnip Ragu
- Pollo Grigliato Ripieno (Stuffed Grilled Chicken)
- Eggplant Lasagna
- Scallops Florentine
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Rigatoni San Giorgio
- Fettuccini Bolognese
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Homemade Pomodoro Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes
Equipment
- Pot
- Blender or food processor
- Saute Pan
Ingredients
- 1 Pot of Water (for boiling)
- 15 – 20 Tomatoes
- 2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ Sweet Onion, grated
- 3 – 5 cloves Garlic, grated
- 1 – 1.5 dozen Basil leaves, torn
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. On the bottom of each tomato make a gentle "X" in each tomato, just cutting through the skin (this will help them peel).
- Working in batches boil the tomatoes until skin starts to detach from each tomato. Place in an ice bath when ready to remove.
- Carefully peel cooled tomatoes. Place tomatoes in a blender or food processor and blend.
- Meanwhile heat the oil in a skillet. Cook garlic and onion mixture for 8 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (avoid burning the garlic).
- Pour in the tomato sauce, stir in half the torn basil, and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Finish with remaining torn basil. Use immediately or cool and jar for later use.
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