I use my tomato sauce in many recipes, so I make plenty of it in the summer, and I can for the winter.
I prefer it to the commercial one because I know it doesn’t contain any added sugars or artificial colors, the tomatoes I use are organic and ripened on the plant and, most importantly, it tastes better!
To make it is an extra effort, but it’s well worth it. It’s nice to know that it’s in my pantry, ready to use in stews, soups, ratatouille, pizzas or, by simply warming it up, adding a pinch of salt and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and dressing my pasta with it.
I refuse to call it Marinara because in Italian “marinara” means “of the sea” and – last time I checked – tomatoes didn’t grow in the sea.
Ingredients: Sr V B Gf Ef Df
(Yields approx. 8 1-pint jars)
- 8 lb. ripe, organic tomatoes (preferably Roma or San Marzano)
- Basil, approx. 20 leaves
- Parsley, handful of leaves
- 1 small onion
- 2 cloves of garlic (optional)
Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. Peel the onion and cut it into quarters. Peel the garlic. Wash the basil and the parsley.
Put the tomatoes and the onion in a big pot, together with the garlic, the parsley and 10 leaves of basil. Reserve the other leaves for the canning jars. Bring to a full boil, lower the heat and let cook for 30 minutes.
Strain the tomatoes with a hand food mill. Return to the pot and let the resulting sauce boil uncovered for another 30-40 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Remove any foam that floats to the surface.
The result must be a sauce not too thick and not too runny.
To can the tomato sauce, transfer it into clean canning jars when it’s still hot, leaving 1/2 inch space between the sauce and the rim of the can. Put a basil leaf on the sauce, close immediately each jar with its lid. I put a clean cotton rag on the bottom of a big pot to avoid the rattling noise of the glass jars during the sterilization process. Arrange the jars on the rag, keeping them upright. Fill the pot with hot water, making sure there is at least ½ inch of water covering the lids. I cover the pot with its lid and let boil for 40 to 60 minutes. It’s very important that you let the jars cool in the pot before removing them.
The sterilized tomato sauce jars last for one year if unopened. Once you open a jar, though, you should keep it in the refrigerator for max. 3 days, or in the freezer until you need to use it again. Once thawed, you cannot freeze it again.