Oops! It’s dinner time already and the cupboards are bare. You have pasta, but the can of tomato sauce you are sure you bought remains elusive… (Or perhaps you are delightfully organized and are sitting there with fresh tomatoes, well before dinner time, but there’s no need for you to rub it in.) Stovetop tomato sauce to the rescue!
You can make this quick sauce with ether fresh, frozen, or canned tomatoes. It is very forgiving. In fact, I can’t even confidently call it a recipe because it is so adaptable.
I won’t give exact quantities, but I will say that you need 2-3x as many tomatoes as you want finished sauce. I can never seem to believe that my pile of tomatoes will shrink so pitifully once they are in the pot, but I have learned to add more than I think I will need to compensate.
If you are adding any other vegetables, now it the time to dice them. Most veg is a little harder than a tomato so you will want to get them in first. I like to brown an onion in a bit of oil before I add my tomatoes, but be as creative as you like! Mushrooms, peppers, I even know people who include carrots. Since we are eating this fresh and not canning it you can add anything you want!
Next is the star of the show, our tomatoes. I would at least cut them in half, or quarters if they are quite large. I like to remove the stem area and any part of the core that seems hard or particularly full of seeds. (This is how I prep my tomatoes to be frozen, so I just defrosted them a bit and popped them right in.) If you don’t like tomato skins, this is the point where you would remove them, but personally I don’t find they make a difference if you have a good blender. If you are using canned tomatoes I am assuming you bought/made them how you prefer and can just dump them straight in the pot!
Add any herbs or seasonings you prefer, which if you are me includes ridiculous quantities of garlic, and simmer until half of the liquid has evaporated. (This should take about 10 minutes or so over medium to medium-high heat.) If you need a starting point for seasoning, things like salt, pepper, garlic and basil are classics. Oregano, paprika or cumin can add some more interest if you want more complex flavours.
Once cooked down all that is left is to give it a quick whizz in the blender and Voila! You turn a shocking lack of forethought into an impressive sounding home cooked meal.
Unless you forgot to start the pasta while you were at it… There’s nothing I can do for you if you are having one of those sorts of days.
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