I made homemade pasta sauce once before, but I wasn’t in love with it. I think it was the tomatoes I used that time (basic garden tomatoes, too watery and flavorless). This time I used about 9 organic roma tomatoes plus a can of tomato paste (mostly for thickening and color, since the romas are lighter red and the sauce looked odd, almost like vodka sauce).
This time I also made it a meat sauce. It turned out fantastic! As usual, I tend to spice things up because I like spice. This time I used cayenne, red jalapenos, and crushed red pepper to add a kick. It was maybe a 3 out of 10, so mild enough for most to enjoy.
And as a bonus, I got to use my immersion blender!
Homemade Pasta Sauce, Take 2
Ingredients (makes about 8 servings)
9 roma tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1 can (small) tomato sauce
1lb ground beef
1 medium onion
5-6 cloves garlic
EVOO
The following to taste:
Italian seasoning
Oregano
Basil
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper
Crushed red pepper
Black pepper
Kosher salt
Pasta
Directions:
First thing we need to do is remove the skins from the tomatoes. Bring a medium sized pan full of water to a boil. Set a bowl of icewater on the side.
While you wait for the water to boil, chop the onion and garlic to a fine mince, though if you like your onion pieces bigger, you’re welcome to do so.
Once the water is at a steady and rapid boil, drop a tomato into the boiling water and watch until it sinks. Then pull it out and place it in the icewater for a few moments, until cool enough to touch. Remove the skins of the tomato, it should slide right off. Complete this will all of your tomatoes.
Using a tomato knife, or any other smaller knife you have good control with, remove the tops and then slice the tomato in half. Carefully, use the knife to scrape out the seeds and watery parts of the inside of the tomato. Then, over the sink, squeeze the tomato to remove as much of the seeds and water as possible. Place the tomato in a strainer to allow it to continue draining. Do this for each of your tomatoes. Remember, seeds make it bitter, so get as many out as you can!
It is now decision making time. Do you like your sauce with chunks of tomato or mostly smooth? If you want a more textured, chunky sauce, you will want to dice almost all of your tomatoes. If you want a smoother sauce, you will want to use a blender, immersion blender, or food processor to pulverize your tomatoes. I personally went for a 2:1 pulverized to diced ratio, resulting in a perfect sauce where my husband can’t find the chunks of tomato but I still get a bit of texture. Dice the tomatoes and while you’re at it, dice the red jalapeno peppers if you’re using them. Also, if anyone can tell me why there were carrots in my can of red peppers, you will be my hero.
If you’re going to blend/pulverize your tomatoes, place them in your kitchen gadget of choice and add a bit of olive oil.
Now, it is cooking time. Add some EVOO to a pan and heat. Add the onions and garlic to the oil and cook until soft and slightly browned. Add the ground beef and season with your spices, about 2/3 of your intended amount (you will add more to the sauce later). Once the beef is mostly browned, add the diced tomatoes and heat for 5 minutes.
Once heated, add all of the rest of your tomatoes including the canned paste and sauce. The sauce here was mostly for color, you can eliminate it if your tomatoes provide the right color. The paste is necessary to thicken the sauce.
Now add the rest of your spice and allow to simmer for at least 1 hour.
Remember, the most important part of making a sauce is adjusting on the fly. If you taste your sauce and it is too… well, anything… you CAN save it! Here are my hints for enhancing or even rescuing a doomed sauce:
My sauce is….
Too bland – Add more spices, start with garlic and Italian seasoning, if you want more kick… CAYENNE!
Too spicy – Add another can of tomato sauce or a can of diced tomatoes
Too bitter – Add a tablespoon or 2 of brown sugar, bitter sauces are common
Too sweet – Add another can of tomato paste, the concentrated acid will help immensely
I burned it – Good job. Don’t worry, I’ve done this too. To save it, you can do any of the following:
*Peel a potato, add the whole thing to the sauce, let it sit for about an hour, keep stirring it
*Add 2-3 pieces of toast to the sauce, allow them to sit on top or slightly submerged for 20-30 min
*Add 3-4 tbsp peanut butter. I am not lying.
So now that you’ve saved your sauce, let it simmer. Honestly, it could simmer for 4-5 hours and still be great. Whenever you’re ready to eat, boil your pasta and serve with a little bit of cheese on top.
Enjoy!