quick homemade tomato sauce
Growing up, I always thought that men had no idea how to cook. I have to credit this thinking to my dad, who, although being fantastic at many things, never knows what to do in the kitchen. He makes the best popcorn and sandwiches in the world, and puts together the weirdest omelets that include everything he finds in the kitchen — from breadcrumbs and vegetables to nuts and anything else that stands in his way. And that pretty much sums all of his recipes. So you can imagine my surprise when I started dating Jon and he mentioned that he not only knows how to cook but truly enjoys it! It’s amazing being married to a man who knows his way through the kitchen, and knowing that when I’m too lazy, tired or sick to cook, something will always be on the table for dinner.
I generally take care of most of the cooking in the Savormania kitchen, but sometimes Jon likes to join me and help out. Last Saturday I was feeling really lazy but needed to shoot a recipe for this week, so he offered to cook one of his favorite dishes for the blog. For those following me on my Instragram account (and if you don’t, you should!), here’s proof that my husband is the most adorable human being. Jon chose to prepare a quick homemade tomato sauce — one of his staple recipes — while I sat back, relaxed and took a couple of pictures along the way.
Jon chose to make the tomato sauce out of Roma tomatoes. Selecting the right tomatoes for a sauce makes all the difference in the world, and we’ve both found that Roma tomatoes yield the best results, as they are meatier and contain fewer seeds and less water than many other varieties. To make a rich and tasty tomato soup, you’ll have to peel the tomatoes and remove their seeds prior to cooking them with onion, garlic, olive oil and basil. There are many way to peel tomatoes but our favorite is to boil them in hot water to soften the skin. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide with photos so you can visualize the process better.
Core the tomatoes with a sharp knife.
With a sharp knife, delicately draw an “X” on each tomato. This will make them easier to peel after being boiled.
Fully immerse the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds to loosen their skin.
Drop them in ice-cold water to stop the cooking process. When cooled down, peel off the skin. Slice the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the liquid and seeds. Cut the remaining meat in cubes and set aside.
Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large skillet. Fry onion and a whole piece of garlic cut in half until fragrant and slightly golden. Add the tomatoes, a couple of basil leaves, salt, pepper, a bit of sugar and another generous amount of olive oil and let simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove the garlic clove and season to taste. Add more sugar if the sauce is too acid.
- 16 roma tomatoes
- About ½ cup olive oil, divided
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, cut in half
- 10 basil leaves
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar, or more if needed
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Core the tomatoes and using a knife, delicately cross an X on each tomato. Place each tomato for 10 seconds in the boiling water and cool in the bowl of ice water; this will soften the skin and make it easier to peel them. Peel the tomatoes, cut them in half, and squeeze them to remove most of their juices and seeds. Cut the tomatoes in cubes and set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the onion and garlic until fragrant and slightly golden, about 8 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, basil leaves, salt, pepper, sugar and remaining olive oil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 20 minutes until the olive oil evaporates. Remove garlic clove, season with more salt and pepper if needed and add more sugar if the sauce is too acid.
How did your quick homemade tomato sauce come out? Share photos of your recipe on Instagram by tagging #savormania