Rich semi-sweet tomato sauce seasoned with oregano and basil, with chunks of peppers, onions, and garlic Yield:
5 pints or 1 pint Ingredients:
5 pints tomato sauce (see directions)
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped sweet peppers or bell peppers
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons salt
5 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons basil
2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
a little tomato juice (set some aside when draining)
Instructions:
1.To make 5 pints of tomato sauce, you will need about 20 pounds of tomatoes (1.5 pecks, approximately). You can, however, make sauce out of whatever tomatoes you have on hand and adjust the seasonings according to how much sauce you have.
Prepare tomatoes as follows: wash and core tomatoes and put into a large pan(s) and cook until soft and mushy (at least one hour). Be careful to stir every now and then and keep the heat reasonable so they don’t scorch… scorched tomatoes taste awful!
2. Using a small pan or large scoop, put hot tomatoes into a strainer to drain off the watery juice. (We use a mesh wire strainer.) When tomatoes have drained somewhat (10-20 minutes), run them through a colander, which will remove the seeds and skins. (Another way is to drain the tomatoes and then run through a blender or food processor.) While you process one batch, have another batch in the strainer to drain.
3. Put sauce into a clean pan, and continue until all tomatoes are processed. You should now have a tomato sauce, which could be canned as is, or you can season for pizza/spaghetti, etc. Usually once you have the tomatoes processed, then you know how much sauce you will end up with. The above measurements were per 5 pints of processed sauce.
4. Cook onions, garlic, and peppers in a pan on the stove with a little tomato juice until tender before adding to sauce.
5. While you are cooking the onions, peppers, and garlic, add the white sugar, salt, oregano, black pepper, basil, and arrowroot or cornstarch, mixed with a little tomato juice (set some aside when draining). Stir sauce to mix thoroughly and bring to a boil so it thickens. You may need more thickener depending on how well-drained your tomatoes were and your own preference.
6. If preserving, put into jars and process for 25 minutes (for pints; 35 minutes for quarts). (You can open-kettle this, like salsa, but it gets kind of messy because the sauce is thick and splashes when it boils.) Additional Notes:
So, you don’t have enough tomatoes to make a huge batch of sauce, but you want some yummy home made pizza sauce to use on tonight’s pizza? Here you go:
1. Wash and dice your tomatoes (You will probably need about 6 c after they are diced), so there are no large pieces of peeling. (Alternately, wash tomatoes and put into a large bowl. Pour boiling water over, let set for a few minutes, and remove peeling. Then dice.)
2. Put tomatoes into a pan on the stovetop, and start cooking. Add some sugar (1.5 T), salt (1/2 t), oregano (1/2 t), black pepper, and basil (1/4 t). Those measurements are all approximate… just taste and alter as you wish.
3. Simmer until sauce thickens (this will take at least an hour, so make sure you have plenty of time!). You can hurry the process a little by thickening with cornstarch (mix 1-2 T cornstarch with cold water or reserved tomato juice, then add to boiling tomatoes, stirring immediately to prevent lumps).
4. When sauce is to desired thickness, you’re done! Enjoy! 🙂
This recipe is from Tammy’s Recipes.