All-Purpose Tomato Sauce

All-Purpose Tomato Sauce

Last summer, I came across a great buy on tomatoes at the farmer's market. Some became pizza sauce, some became pasta sauce, and some were simply peeled, popped into ziplocks and frozen. We gobbled up all of little eight-ounce containers of pizza sauce rather quickly, since we eat pizza at least every week. The pasta sauce was also eaten up. We came to the last of the tomatoes in the freezer, about six quarts' worth, so I decided to make an all-purpose, plain tomato sauce with it. That way it could be seasoned up for pasta, pizza, or even homemade BBQ sauce.

To prepare 10-12 pounds (5-6 quarts) of fresh or frozen tomatoes...

Blend them up whole. The post originally had instructions to peel the tomatoes. Skip it and just blend them up whole. Just be sure to wash them and cut off any bad parts first.

Simmer in your crock pot until reduced.  There is no need to add water; just put the lid on, turn on the crock pot and walk away. For a ten-pound batch, all day (or night) on high is just right.

(If your tomatoes did not all fit in, blend up and add more as the sauce reduces.)

Blend the Sauce Again.  Even though the tomatoes were blended, the sauce will get lumpy as it cooks. Allow the sauce to cool, then blend it again, batch by batch.

[Season. I left this batch plain to be seasoned as needed. If you intend to use the sauce for pasta, you can add sauteed onions, peppers, carrots, or mushrooms at this point. You can also add oregano, marjoram, basil, garlic... Remember that the sauce will reduce so if you plan to add salt wait until you have the final volume.]

Portion and freeze. If you are using plastic containers, cool the sauce down first. Don't ask me what I know about melting plastic containers with hot sauce because I will admit to nothing. I find eight-ounce portions to be just right. If you are making enchiladas or lasagna, you can take out and thaw as many as you need.

Thaw as needed. For spaghetti, saute carrots, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and fresh garlic in olive oil. You can add ground grassfed beef or a bit of romano or parmesan cheese, too. Season with oregano, marjoram, basil, parsley, and garlic as you wish, then add the plain tomato sauce and simmer as long as you have time for. Salt as needed.

For pizza, pour the sauce over the prepared crust and sprinkle seasonings right over top before adding other toppings. Oregano and basil, garlic, onion powder... Sometimes we blend up plain tomato sauce with spinach to make Monster Pizza.

I shared this post with these natural food link-ups:  Meatless Mondays, Real Food 101, Make Your Own Monday!  Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday,  Real Food Wednesday, and Simple Lives Thursday.

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