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Spaghetti sauce recipe
whiteclouder
Member Posts: 10,574 ✭✭✭
I need a recipe for tomato sauce. A neighbor unloaded a big bag of ripe ones and I'll never use them all as fresh vegetables. I've eaten REAL sauce made by an Italian neighbor when I was posted overseas so I know the commercial stuff we buy is mediocre. I'd appreciate a few of you gourmonds offering to share your expertise. I googled for a recipe and they ALL say open a can of this, dump in a can of something else, and add some Italian spices. Bletch!
Clouder..
Clouder..
Comments
Dang HeDog, if I wanted Guido's sauce I'd go to Olive Garden.[:)]
Clouder..
http://italianfood.about.com/od/vegetablesauces/r/blr0023.htm
http://www.formerchef.com/2009/09/01/how-to-make-basic-marinara-sauce/
4 lbs fresh tomatoes, chopped & peeled
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 sprigs parsley
1 tablespoon sugar
grated parmesan cheese
Directions:
1 To cook pasta sauce, heat olive oil over medium heat in a large iron skillet or heavy saucepan.
2 Add onion, basil, garlic and salt.
3 Saute until onion is tender, approximately 5 minutes.
4 Add tomato, parsley and sugar; heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 2 hours, stirring often or until sauce has thickened.
5 Remove parsley.
6 Serve over cooked spaghetti or other Italian pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.
But, I've seen it done. You need to blanch the maters to remove the skins; put them in boiling water for a minute, then cool. The skin should come right off. Put them through an old fashioned food processor, not sure what it is called: It's a strainer with a handle that uses a screw to force the tomato pieces through the mesh.
Neal
Have done it with plum tomatoes before, but it's more of a pain for me time wise.
My problem is I don't have a recipe to write out here.
It's all in my head![;)]
Pinch of this, pinch of that,...you get the drift.
I use ground bison, and italian sausage, but I cook the sausage like ground beef without the 'skin.'
Plenty of garlic, oregano, basil, and fennel seed with a few bay leaves. Half a cup of burgundy wine, and splashes of balsamic vinegar along the way. Olive oil as well.
After I have it all cooked down, and tasting right, I put a few pinches of sugar in to cut the acidity, but not make it sweet,....I hate sweet sauce.
Basically do as others have suggested with your fresh tomatoes, and go slowly with the herbs. The taste develops as it cooks, so keep a nice spoon handy, as you will be doing a lot of tasting.
I really like a hint of fennel in mine, but take that one very slowly, as it magnifies quickly in strength.
Italian parsley is also a good addition IMHO.
I usually add a small can or two of tomato paste as well.
With my canned tomatoes I simply mash them in the pot with my hands,.....I don't bother with all the cutting, as they will cook down fine.
Add salt to your liking of course, and ground pepper if you like.
There are thousands of recipes out there, and everybody likes a different style.
All I can say is most folks that have had mine tell me I could sell the stuff.
Sorry I can't help with a standardized recipe, but some cooks simply go by taste, and not from a cookbook.
Prego works, Del Monte doesn't.
Home cooked sauce is lost on me.
Prego works, Del Monte doesn't.
That explains it right there.[xx(]
Sweet tomato jelly basically.
There are far better jarred sauces out there IMO if that's the route you want to go, and I do use them from time to time.
Clouder..
Thanks. I think I can muddle my way through this now. I hadn't considered the sugar, and fennel is new to me. We never learn if we never try to learn, right? I'll let you all know how it turns out.
Clouder..
Just to try and clarify some more.
Get your tomatoes taken care of first however you want it. If you don't want the seeds, clean them as others have said.
If you are doing a very long simmering, you can add whatever meat you want uncooked. I personally saute mine until partially done, but doesn't matter.
Add whatever sauteed 'veggies' you want,......I only use some diced onion done with my garlic in olive oil, but that's me.
Many like celery, and even carrots, you have to use your own taste.
If you are going to use Burgundy wine put that in, and start adding your herbs, and other seasonings in small amounts. Simmer and stir, simmer and stir,....taste.
Add a bit more of what you think is lacking, and repeat.
Most real Italian sauces use fennel, but as I said before,......go slowly, especially if you are not familiar with the taste. It doesn't take much. A few bay leaves will enhance the taste, but don't forget to remove when done![:)]
My best guess on minced garlic is about 3 to 4 TBLS for a pot full, but I like garlic. I also use quite a bit of oregano and basil but do it as you wish,....the key is add small, cook and taste.[:D]
If is starts getting too thick, or you screw up and overdo something,....add a 1/2 cup of water, and cook it down.
The sugar deal is the last thing I do.
When everything tastes just right seasoning wise, I judge how acidic it is. If too acidic for my taste, I add about 1/2 TSP at a time, and simmer another 10 minutes. Continue until the acid/sweet taste matches what you like.
Once you do this a time or two,.....you won't need any stinkin' recipe Chef!
Really hope it works out for you, as homemade sauce is miles better than jarred stuff IMO.
I'm an Irish/English/Scottish/German mutt trapped in an Italian body![:D]
[:p]
Crit
Unfortunately, Wally, despite my love of cooking I'm unable to help on this one. As a younger man I ate a lot of momma Comparato's sauce. She was from the old country (matter of fact, she only spoke about ten words of English). To me, her sauce is the gold standard by which any sauce can be judged as "good" (or passable even).
A guy could put that sauce on an asphalt shingle and he'd tell you that shingle was the best thing he ever eaten in his life.
I've made some passable sauces from scratch, but they are all works in progress in pursuit of that holy Grail, momma Comparato's red sauce.
Sounds like she stole my recipe,.....how I can't 'splain![:0][:D]
That's the best tip you'll ever get.
Oh yeah,don't burn the garlic..[:D]
The typical Italian sauce that is served in Italian restaurants is thin like that shown in this video, but it will have pieces of the tomato and onion that has not been completely crushed or cooked down, and, of course it will be made from scratch, but this recipe looks good for a thin sauce as well:
What is the deal with Prego here?[xx(]
As Jeff said,....there is a big difference between a marinara and a meat sauce.
My sauce has to be 'ladeled' out of the pot.
I do not use wimpy spaghetti either,.....it's linguini, or fettucini for me.
Maybe I should get some dry ice and send you a quart next time I make a pot.
Nah,...you wouldn't like it.
Stick to that Prego Italian pancake syrup![:0][:D]
I'm having major DSL issues today,....hope this one makes it through.
Then next time get Trader Joe's Rustico sauce.[:D]
quote:Originally posted by kimi
The typical Italian sauce that is served in Italian restaurants is thin like that shown in this video, but it will have pieces of the tomato and onion that has not been completely crushed or cooked down, and, of course it will be made from scratch, but this recipe looks good for a thin sauce as well:
What is the deal with Prego here?[xx(]
As Jeff said,....there is a big difference between a marinara and a meat sauce.
My sauce has to be 'ladeled' out of the pot.
I do not use wimpy spaghetti either,.....it's linguini, or fettucini for me.
Maybe I should get some dry ice and send you a quart next time I make a pot.
Nah,...you wouldn't like it.
Stick to that Prego Italian pancake syrup![:0][:D]
I'm having major DSL issues today,....hope this one makes it through.
[:D]
You might not be able to get there from here.
What kind of tomatoes do you have?
You might not be able to get there from here.
Red?
I think they're plum or roma. Acidic as all get out.
Clouder..
3tbs brown sugar
4tsp salt
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1tsp fresh ground pepper
2cups lightly packed basil leaves (much less if dried already)
1cup assorted oregano, thyme, marjoram
6tbsp lemon juice
cook down and add spices to taste as you go.