Tags
Basil, Cooking, Cooking Basics, Dinner, Food, Fresh Vegetables, Garlic, How to make tomato sauce from garden tomatoes, Olive oil, Recipe, Tablespoon, Tomato sauce, Tomatoes
How to make tomato sauce from your garden tomatoes…
If you’ve got a LOT of tomatoes try this spaghetti sauce. Everybody LOVES spaghetti and meatballs. This is a recipe that I’ve been making for years.
Browning the meatballs and simmering the tomato/basil sauce.
MY MEATBALLS
Soak in milk, water or stock;
1 slice of bread, 1 inch thick
Beat:
2 eggs
Add eggs to:
1 1/2 lb. ground meat/Martin’s ground sirloin is the best
Saute until golden brown:
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
Add to the meat. Wring the liquid from the bread. Add the bread to the meat and then add:
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 chopped clove garlic
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. fresh oregano or basil/I’ve used mixed dried Italian herbs when I didn’t have fresh herbs
Mix and form into balls. Brown lightly in:
2 tablespoons butter
Cover your frying pan and simmer on low until the meatballs for 1/2 hour or until the meatballs are firm and no longer pink in the middle.
Cooking down the sauce.
SPAGHETTI SAUCE WITH FRESH TOMATOES AND BASIL
6 peeled, seeded and cut up tomatoes (2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce)
garlic, minced to taste or pinch of garlic powder
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons fresh basil (more or less to taste)
DIRECTIONS In a large skillet or saucepan combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, sugar and basil. (Other herbs may be added. I really like basil and prefer just that with tomatoes.) Stir all together and simmer over low heat until thickened. More sugar and a tablespoon of butter may be added if the sauce is too acidic. Flour (1 to 2 tablespoons) may be added if you prefer a thicker sauce. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
HOW TO PEEL TOMATOES
Put the tomatoes, a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for no more than 1 minute (30 – 45 seconds is usually enough)
This makes the skins slide right off of the tomatoes! If you leave the skins in, they become tough and chewy in the sauce…not very pleasant.
After you have peeled the skins off the tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half.
Now you need to remove the seeds and excess water. Wash your hands then squeeze each tomato and use your finger or a spoon to scoop and shake out most of the seeds. You don’t need to get fanatical about it; removing just most will do.
You reward for all that work…homemade spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and basil over meatballs and spaghetti. I promise your family will be smiling.
