🍅 Tomato Madness🍅
If you have oodles of tomatoes and you can’t stand the thought of letting them go to waste, here’s a perfect plan! Make homemade marinara sauce now, and freeze it for later. Most importantly, you don’t have to stand in front of a boiling canner to preserve this sauce. Simply freeze it! You just make it (and it’s super, super easy) and then you freeze it in quart or even gallon freezer bags. Then, when the weather cools down and you’re in the mood for a big 🍝 spaghetti dinner (or lasagna, etc.) , you already have a delicious, homegrown/homemade marinara sauce just waiting for you!
True Confession
The truth is, I’m always looking for the easiest way to make the best possible dish. Sometimes shortcuts don’t work and other times, they are perfection. Most recipes for any type of homemade tomato sauce require boiling then peeling and seeding 🍅 tomatoes. Oh, hell heck no! I already have a full-time job! To make this sauce, you just core and roughly chop the tomatoes. Cook them up with some seasoning and then puree. It will turn out perfectly! No nasty skin or seeds to bother you. You’ll never no they were there and all the goodness stays in.
How I Marinara
I had a ton of tomatoes this year, thanks to global warming my husbands amazing gardening abilities. They were coming in faster than we could eat them, preserve them and give them away. Here’s my fix!
Clean, core and chop about 8 cups of tomatoes. That was about 15 tomatoes from our garden. A medium 🍅 tomato cored and chopped will usually be about 1/2 cup. You don’t have to be exact for this recipe, just close. Set tomatoes aside.
In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed sauce pan, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter and let it melt together on medium heat. Add 2 chopped onions and 6-7 large cloves of garlic, minced. Saute until the onion is translucent and even starting to brown a little bit, about 8-10 minutes.
Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or marjoram and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil. If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can substitute with 1 teaspoon of dried for each tablespoon of fresh. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Cook another minute.
Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of honey or sugar. Just bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and or pepper to taste.
Freshly Frozen
This recipe makes about 10-12 cups of sauce. Let the mixture cool completely. Process in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Freeze in batches, based upon your needs. A quart size freezer bag is perfect for 1-2 cups of sauce. Label the freezer bag with Marinara and add the date. Fill the bag, then remove the air. Lay flat to freeze. When you’re ready to use it, thaw in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
This is a simple marinara sauce. Just enough seasoning that you can use it for almost anything. Once defrosted, it’s easy to adjust and add herbs or other ingredients that best suit the recipe you’re making.
Notes
How to freeze:
This recipe makes about 10-12 cups of sauce. Let the mixture cool completely. Process in a food processor or blender until smooth. Freeze in batches, based upon your needs. A quart size freezer bag is perfect for 1-2 cups of sauce. Label the freezer bag with Marinara and add the date. Fill the bag, then remove the air. Lay flat to freeze.
Frozen marinara will keep in the freezer for 6 months
Ingredients
- 15-16 tomatoes for 8 cups cored/chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion, chopped
- 6-7 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 2 tablespoon chopped oregano or marjoram
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
Instructions
- Clean, core and chop about 8 cups of tomatoes. (A medium tomato cored and chopped will usually be about 1/2 cup.)
- Set tomatoes aside.
- In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed sauce pan, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter and let it melt together on medium heat.
- Add 1 whole chopped onion and 6-7 cloves of minced garlic.
- Saute until the onion is translucent and even starting to brown a little bit, about 8-10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or marjoram and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil. (If you don't have fresh herbs, you can substitute with 1 teaspoon of dried for each tablespoon of fresh).
- Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
- Cook another minute.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of honey or sugar.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and let it boil for about 3 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and or pepper to taste.
Recipe from Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
