Homemade Tomato Sauce

I am not really much of a gardener, quite the opposite really, but despite the uncharacteristic weather for the northeast this year (warm winter/spring, heavy rains followed by extremely warm and dry weather) Mother Nature decided to give me a break.

On top of having tons of cucumbers that I either ate, pickled or donated, I had TONS of tomatoes, which is absolutely fine by me. There is nothing eating a tomato straight from the vine while it is still warm from the summer sun... I digress... While eating a fresh tomato is great, they are many other things that you can make with them including salsa, bruschetta and, of course, tomato sauce.

I have actually attempted to make sauce before using other people's recipes and the end result was far from desirable (lacked body, too much of some other ingredient such as sugar/vinegar, or it was far from tasty). However, this time I decided to go with my instincts and keep it simple, aka "throw it in the pot and hope for the best," and this time it all worked out! Not only was it tasty but it was a big hit as well as versatile. 

I want to stop you now before I get into the recipe and say that this is NOT like some secret Italian family recipe and it is NOT like a jar that you are going to get off the shelf. What it IS is a very simple recipe that highlights the tomatoes and can be an excellent base for many other meals such as chili, meatball subs or spaghetti sauce where you add other vegetables... the possibilities are endless!

Tomato Sauce:
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, chunked
1-2 TB fresh garlic, finely diced
4-5 lbs tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

Almost there! See how it has already reduced
quite a bit from the original height?

1. Heat safflower oil over medium heat then add onions and cook until slightly brown;
2. Add red peppers and cook until soft then add garlic and cook until fragrant;
3. Start adding tomatoes in batches, you want the temperature to come back up in between additions;
4. Once all the tomatoes are added, sprinkle with salt and bring to a boil;
5. Add herbs and pepper then reduce to a simmer;
6. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until most of the water has evaporated, but not so much that the tomatoes are starting to stick to the bottom;
7. Set a blender basin in a warm water bath to bring the temperature of the glass up then add the mixture in batches, blending until smooth;
8. Return to the pot and continue to cook until sauce has reached desired consistency.
9. You can use this sauce right away of store in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. I did jar some of mine, but I am not advanced enough in that are to be giving advice. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Bad picture but yummy sauce :-)