Fresh & Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 24 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 stocks of celery chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 3 cloves garlic diced
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Wash tomatoes and slice an X onto the top of each one (this will help the skins come off easily). Place tomatoes into a large pot and add enough water just to cover them. Cook covered for about 20 minutes, or until the tomato skins begin to peel away from the flesh.
- Pour tomatoes (and all their delicious juices) into a food mill over a large bowl. In batches, mill the mix until you have a puree of tomatoey goodness.
- In another large pan (a Dutch oven is a good choice), melt butter, add chopped onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat. Add chopped basil leaves and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Add tomatoes that have been churned through the food mill to the veggie mixture, and simmer on low until the sauce has thickened, about 30-45 minutes. At this point, you can leave it chunky, or use an immersion blender, standing blender, or food processor to puree the sauce into a smooth, creamy consistency.
- I poured about half of the sauce into sealed containers and placed them into the freezer. I then made spaghetti and meatballs with the other half, since that’s about the only way I can get my family to eat tomato sauce.