Basic Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes

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F&W's Grace Parisi keeps her tomato sauce simple to let the deep flavors of summer tomatoes come through. Plus, a straightforward sauce is easier to transform—with a few additions, it can become anything from a Bloody Mary mix to a vegetable curry. Tips from the F&W Test Kitchen More Tomato Recipes

By
Grace Parisi
Grace Parisi
Grace Parisi a former senior test kitchen editor for Food & Wine, where she wrote several successful monthly columns: Food & Wine Handbook, Tasting & Testing, Flavor of the Month, Power Pantry, and Chefs Recipes Made Easy. Parisi has also been published in McCall’s, Redbook, and The New York Times, has written five hit cookbooks, and has appeared numerous times on national television.
Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines
Updated on December 15, 2016
Basic Tomato Sauce from Fresh Tomatoes
It would be wrong to have a month of tomato recipes without a stellar one for classic tomato sauce. A good tomato sauce can truly transform a dish. Even a simple dry pasta can become an incredible meal when topped with a perfect tomato sauce. If you keep the tomato sauce simple, the deep flavors of summer tomatoes come through. Plus, a straightforward sauce is easier to transform—with a few additions, it can become anything from a Bloody Mary mix to a vegetable curry. Photo: ABBY HOCKING
Active Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 30 mins
Yield:
6 pints
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 10 pounds tomatoes (coarsely chopped)

  • 1 ½ cups water

  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 6 large garlic cloves (very thinly sliced)

  • ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper

  • 3 large basil sprigs

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

  1. In a large pot, combine the tomatoes with the water, cover and cook over moderate heat until the tomatoes are softened and soupy, about 15 minutes. Set a food mill over a very large bowl. Add the tomatoes and puree them into the bowl. You should have about 18 cups.

  2. Wipe out the pot and heat the olive oil in it. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook over very low heat until softened, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree, basil and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Simmer over low heat until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 12 cups, about 2 hours. Discard the basil. Let the sauce cool, then pour into six 1-pint plastic containers and freeze for up to 4 months.

Originally appeared: August 2010

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