My husband Lulu planted 19 types of tomato plants and we’re picking more tomatoes than we can possibly eat. It took Lulu and his youngest sister almost 2 hours to pick 11 pounds of Sungold, Sweet Million and San Marzano tomatoes. They also brought in 4 very flavorful red onions. If you know me, you know I hate when food goes to waste, so I made tomato sauce out of necessity.
I got the girls involved and asked them to stem and cut the tomatoes and onions. It didn’t take much effort, especially with the help of my strong, toned and muscular (since they’ve become my morning workout buddies) sisters-in-law. It doesn’t take many ingredients to make a delicious thick tomato sauce. I used exactly 7; tomatoes of course, garlic, red onions, fresh thyme, basil, salt and Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper Sauce that I received from my friend JD Cowles (check out my product review) at All Spice Cafe. I deep-fried large morsels of fresh garlic, caramelized the onions and stewed the tomatoes for 1½ hours. I haven’t tried canning tomato sauce yet because of a fear of botulism, but this time it wasn’t even necessary since all the tomato sauce was so good it was gone after two meals!
1. Info for Garlic and Basil Tomato Sauce Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 2
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Garlic and Basil Tomato Sauce Recipe
- homemade linguine pasta (or store-bought, cooked
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ cup olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic, cut into thirds
- 4 red onions, thinly sliced
- 3 sprigs fresh English thyme (or regular thyme)
- 5 pounds San Marzano tomatoes, halved
- 3 pounds Sweet Million tomatoes
- 3 pounds Sungold tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce), to taste
- ½ cup sweet basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3. Directions:
- Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the garlic and fry until golden. Transfer to a plate. Add the onions and cook over low heat for about 8 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the onions from burning, until the color is evenly golden brown. Transfer to a plate, leaving as much oil as possible in the pot.
- Add the sprigs of thyme, fried garlic, half the amount of caramelized onions and tomatoes. Cook over high heat for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the thyme. Transfer to a food mill. If you don’t have a food mill, you can use a food processor, then pass the sauce through a coarse-mesh sieve and discard the tomato skin, which can feel unpleasant. Return the tomato sauce to the pot, add the reserved onions and let simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Add 2 teaspoons of hot sauce (it’s that spicy!), but if you’re a bit more adventurous, don’t hesitate to add more. Mix well and add the basil. Cover and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Serve a large platter of pasta and a large bowl of homemade tomato sauce on the side and let everyone assemble their meal to their liking.
- Bon appétit!
