Basic Tomato Sauce

A long overdue post, my recipe for basic tomato sauce. A good tomato sauce recipe, it’s pretty essential to have on hand as the amount of dishes you can make with it are endless. I wait all year to make this sauce because as you know, tomatoes are sweet and juicy at this time of the year so I need to stock up not only for now but for a few months after.

This recipe calls for 8 pounds of tomatoes, and that’s not even the largest batch I’ve done. I’m completely obsess with this sauce because it’s so versatile, you can spice it up, use it in soups, pasta is the obvious of course, baked eggs, anyway, you get my point. Of course, you can make half of the recipe or If you are a fan of canning, this is a delicious excuse. Ok, less blah, blah, blah and more recipe, enjoy! 

Ingredients:
Makes about 5 pints

8 pounds tomato
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
10 garlic cloves, minced
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper
crushed red peppers (optional)
10 basil leaves

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Score an X in the bottom of each tomato. Working in batches, add the tomatoes into the pot for about 40 seconds or until the skin starts to peel off. Place the tomatoes on a large bowl and let them cool enough to handle them. Using a paring knife, peel the tomatoes. With your clean hands, break down the tomatoes (it's so therapeutic), set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and saute for a few minutes then add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes more. Next, add the crushed tomatoes bay leaves, tomato paste, salt, pepper and crushed red peppers to taste. Cover the pot and cook the sauce over medium heat for 1 1/2  hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaves and using an immersion blender puree the sauce, add the basil leaves and cook for 1 hour more. 

Tip: Taste the sauce half way cooking time, not only to check on the seasoning but also to see the level of acidity, if is too acid, add a tablespoon of sugar.