What’s Cooking?…Pizza/Pasta Sauce

What’s Cooking?…Pizza/Pasta Sauce.

As summer rapidly approaches, so do tomatoes.  At this time of the year they are sweet and abundant.  They can be purchased for very little outlay.  Personally, I love to buy a box and bring them home and start cooking. Or cut them up fresh and make bruschetta.

What’s Cooking?…Bruschetta Anytime

Today I want to make sauce.  This does take a little effort but it’s well worth while for the delicious sauce and wonderful aroma of fresh tomatoes cooking. Once this sauce is made, it can form a base for other dishes or just be enjoyed on a pasta as a simple and fresh vegetarian sauce.  Its perfect for adding to a pizza base, then add your favorite toppings. It’s  all good.

This is how I do it.

Ingredients for the sauce

2kg of fresh ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 large cloves of garlic chopped
1 small chilli chopped
8 basil leaves

 

Method

Bring a big pot of boiling water to the boil.  Once it’s boiling, plunge the tomatoes into the water.  Keep it on the heat for several minutes, until the tomato skins begin to split.

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Remove fom the heat immediately and drain.  Allow to cool a little then, begin peeling the tomatoes.  Discard the skins.    Roughly chop, remove the core and return to a saucepan for cooking.  If the tomatoes have a lot of seeds, discard some as you chop.

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Once all of the tomatoes are prepared, return to the stove-top and bring up to a simmer.  Stir from time to time to prevent sticking.  Allow the sauce to reduce by at least a third to one half.  This may take about an hour or so.

Prepare the  remainder ingredients….
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Once the the sauce is sufficiently reduced, add the remainder ingredients.  Simmer for about 8-10 minutes.  That it.  Serve with your favourite pasta and some Parmesan or Pecorino cheese and extra chilli if desired.
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Decant the the remainder into a couple of sterile jars and these can be refrigerated ready for another meal. They will keep for at least a week and can be used for a quick meal.  Or if you are into preserving, they can be preserved…..but that’s another story.  I’m off to cook some more tomatoes.  Have a great day!
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