How To Make Your Own Tomato Sauce
While most would prefer their spaghetti sauce coming from those canned ones bought in grocery stores, it’s actually great to prepare spaghetti sauce at home. Aside from being easy to prepare, it’s also tastier. Below is an easy recipe that will surely impress friends and loved ones.
1. Select fresh tomatoes from your garden – or for those who don’t grow tomatoes, visit a local farmer’s market to buy fresh tomatoes. Make sure to pick those healthy, red ones with no bruises or soft spots.
Tomatoes with thicker walls will mean producing a thicker sauce and less cooking time, so it’s best to choose those with thick walls. It’s better that you’ll make a large batch of sauce and freeze the leftovers rather than making fresh sauce every time you need one.
2. Start by preparing the tomatoes by removing the skin. Leaving the skin will produce a tastier, chewy sauce. The easiest way to remove the skin is to place them in boiling water for about 30-45 seconds. Remove them with tongs and plunge them into an ice water.
Next step is to remove the seeds and water. It’s not necessary that every seed has to go, since most will cook down, but removing the majority will result to a smoother sauce.
Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze them using a spoon to shake them out. Then drain. Draining will make the sauce thicker and will reduce cooking time because there’ll be less liquid to boil off. It’s then best to strain it and save the liquid for fresh tomato juice in the future.
3. If you’re preparing a meat sauce, brown the meat, such as a ground pork or beef. Remove them from the heat and drain, and save the remaining oil.
4. Packaged seasoning is easier and more convenient, but selecting is always best. The best part about seasoning on your own is the freedom to choose the spices and ingredients to add into it. Making spaghetti sauce at home also means experimenting with all different kinds of ingredients to discover the taste you’d prefer.
5. Take four tablespoons of oil from the meat and inside a large skillet add onions and garlic then heat. Stir until the onion becomes soft while the garlic turns to a golden brown. Put some mushrooms, peppers, and cornstarch or tomato paste to the pot then cook for a few minutes to soften the produce.
Sprinkle in Parmesan cheese and red wine. Add the cooked onions and garlic then stir. Then add the browned meat last. There is no need adding additional liquid, as tomatoes possess a good amount of water in them.
Once all ingredients have been added, bring the pot to a boil, and cover it. Lastly, simmer for one hour or until your desired thickness is reached.
You now have successfully made spaghetti sauce. Enjoy!