Fresh Tomato Sauce

Making your own tomato sauce can be very rewarding. You can make your sauce anyway you want: thick, or thin, cooked or raw.

Slow-cooked tomato sauce develops a more robust flavor, quickly cooked sauce has a lighter flavor, and raw is refreshing and best if you use really ripe tomatoes.

The benefit of cooking your sauce a long time is that the sauce thickens as the water is cooked out, and the flavors of other added vegetables enhances the flavor of the sauce.

To prepare fresh tomatoes for sauce, boil a large pot of water, and have another container of ice cold water ready. When the water has boiled, plunge your tomatoes into the hot water, and leave them in the boiling water only for a minute or two. Then plunge them into the cold water, which will cool them off so you can handle them. Hot water loosens the skins to make them easier to remove. The cold water stops the cooking process. Remove the skins and squeeze out the seeds, and puree in a food processor or blender. You may add different spices and vegetables according to what you like.

For a basic tomato sauce, put some cooking oil in a large sauce pan and add some chopped onion, green peppers and celery. Saute these until tender, then add the pureed tomatoes, bringing the sauce to a boil. Simmer for at least four hours. You may want to add a little salt, and even some sugar to take out the acidity of the tomatoes.

You can make large batches of sauce and freeze them for later consumption, or share your homemade sauce with neighbors and family.

This tomatoes sauce can be spiced up for spaghetti sauce by adding garlic, Italian seasonings, and basil.