Good tomato sauce recipe needed.

omri

I'm looking for a recipe for a good home made tomato sauce. I want to use it for a pasta dish with prawns. Many thanks!

Mrs Fox

I love the River Cafe's Spaghetti in a Bag with prawns and tomatoes. It's simple and full of flavour.

Spaghetti in the bag
serves 4

350g spaghetti
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 x 400g tin plum tomatoes, drained
1 red chilli de-seeded, finely sliced
500g cooked prawns
Juice from 1 lemon
1 lemon, quartered
3 tbsp basil
120ml white wine
Olive oil

Heat oven to 200c.
Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add 2 garlic cloves and cook gently.
Add in tomatoes and sea salt. Let it reduce to a thick sauce.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti for 7 minutes. Drain and season; add 3 tbsp oil.
In another pan, gently cook the rest of garlic cloves in 3 tbsp oil. Add chilli and prawns, and let it heat through. Add lemon juice.
Cut four 50cm squares of foil; in each square drizzle some oil, 1/4 of spaghetti, tomato sauce, prawns, basil and season.
Fold around leaving 1 side open - drizzle in 2 tbsp wine; seal.
Into the oven for 7-8 minutes. Serve with 1/4 lemon each.

fred funk }{

The quality of the tomatoes is what will make it a good sauce or not.

BailMeOut

In a BIG pot

4 onions finely chopped
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
1 red bell pepper diced
½ cup of chopped garlic – lots of garlic!
½ cup flat leafed parsley finely chopped - lots of parsley
½ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon dry oregano
½ cup white wine (always white wine with tomatoes)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4-6 tins of GOOD quality Italian San Marzano whole tomatoes crushed in a bowl using your bare hands (depending on much your pot will hold!)
1 small tin of tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Dry red pepper flakes
Sugar if sauce tastes bitter (depends on tomatoes)

Sweat the onions and celery olive oil for about 10 minutes in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the red bell peppers and garlic stirring so that the garlic does not burn. After a few minutes add the white wine.
Stir occasionally and continue to cook until all the alcohol has evaporated from the wine.
Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a slight simmer
Add the parsley and the balsamic vinegar.
Add enough tomato paste to thicken if desired
Add dry oregano
Simmer for about 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper (and some sugar if bitter) to taste
Blitz with hand blender into a sauce

Separate into multiple portions and freeze.

PLL

BailMeOut wrote: »

In a BIG pot

4 onions finely chopped
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
1 red bell pepper diced
½ cup of chopped garlic – lots of garlic!
½ cup flat leafed parsley finely chopped - lots of parsley
½ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon dry oregano
½ cup white wine (always white wine with tomatoes)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4-6 tins of GOOD quality Italian San Marzano whole tomatoes crushed in a bowl using your bare hands (depending on much your pot will hold!)
1 small tin of tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Dry red pepper flakes
Sugar if sauce tastes bitter (depends on tomatoes)

Sweat the onions and celery olive oil for about 10 minutes in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the red bell peppers and garlic stirring so that the garlic does not burn. After a few minutes add the white wine.
Stir occasionally and continue to cook until all the alcohol has evaporated from the wine.
Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a slight simmer
Add the parsley and the balsamic vinegar.
Add enough tomato paste to thicken if desired
Add dry oregano
Simmer for about 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper (and some sugar if bitter) to taste
Blitz with hand blender into a sauce

Separate into multiple portions and freeze.

yeah this is v good. Very similar to mine so I see no point writing mine out too.

omri

BailMeOut wrote: »

In a BIG pot

4 onions finely chopped
2 stalks of celery finely chopped
1 red bell pepper diced
½ cup of chopped garlic – lots of garlic!
½ cup flat leafed parsley finely chopped - lots of parsley
½ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon dry oregano
½ cup white wine (always white wine with tomatoes)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4-6 tins of GOOD quality Italian San Marzano whole tomatoes crushed in a bowl using your bare hands (depending on much your pot will hold!)
1 small tin of tomato paste
Salt and pepper
Dry red pepper flakes
Sugar if sauce tastes bitter (depends on tomatoes)

Sweat the onions and celery olive oil for about 10 minutes in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the red bell peppers and garlic stirring so that the garlic does not burn. After a few minutes add the white wine.
Stir occasionally and continue to cook until all the alcohol has evaporated from the wine.
Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a slight simmer
Add the parsley and the balsamic vinegar.
Add enough tomato paste to thicken if desired
Add dry oregano
Simmer for about 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper (and some sugar if bitter) to taste
Blitz with hand blender into a sauce

Separate into multiple portions and freeze.

Is it necessary to use canned tomatoes? Ive got some really nice, ripe, fresh tomatoes. Would that do?

BailMeOut

omri wrote: »

Is it necessary to use canned tomatoes? Ive got some really nice, ripe, fresh tomatoes. Would that do?

If you know how to de-skin and de-seed fresh tomatoes then you own would definitely be better. While cooking just keep an eye on bitterness which can be combated with a little sugar.

Another tip is to put in a good fist full of fresh basil right before you blitz the sauce.

omri

BailMeOut wrote: »

If you know how to de-skin and de-seed fresh tomatoes then you own would definitely be better. While cooking just keep an eye on bitterness which can be combated with a little sugar.

Another tip is to put in a good fist full of fresh basil right before you blitz the sauce.

Peeling is no problem. However I never deseed tomatoes as I find the seeds with the gelly like fluid very flavoursome. So in my case all will go in apart the hard part from the green stem.

gifted

Carton of passata ( aldi) in with your tomato chopped tomatoes. ....delicious and makes it even smoother

BailMeOut

omri wrote: »

Peeling is no problem. However I never deseed tomatoes as I find the seeds with the gelly like fluid very flavoursome. So in my case all will go in apart the hard part from the green stem.

sounds good but make loads and freeze! It is such a versatile sauce that can be the base for so many great meals.

rojito

omri wrote: »

Peeling is no problem. However I never deseed tomatoes as I find the seeds with the gelly like fluid very flavoursome. So in my case all will go in apart the hard part from the green stem.

I read that putting in a peeled half carrot during the cooking process helps suck out the acidity/bitterness also, just take it out before serving. I tried it once and was happy with the results but obviously when using fresh tomatoes the sauce varies greatly depending on the quality/ripeness of the tomatoes. I may have just got lucky with the tomatoes. I had planned to try the carrot trick again tonight though.