Recipe: Fresh Pasta Sauce with Home Grown Tomatoes

We visited my in-laws this past weekend and came home with a huge bag of tomatoes from my mother-in-law's garden. As soon as I got my hands on these perfectly plump, shiny, red tomatoes I just knew they were destined to be pasta sauce! My husband and I eat a LOT of pasta with marinara sauce, and while the brand we normally buy is pretty clean, I have always wanted to try making my own.

It was pretty overwhelming trying to find a recipe for homemade sauce as there are so many variations out there, and just as many opinions on what tastes the best. I decided to take the advice of an Italian girlfriend of mine and kept it simple. "All you need is onion, olive oil, tomatoes, and basil," she said. "Ok, I can do that," I thought! Here is what I came up with...

For my sauce, I used:

7 large garden-fresh tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp dried basil (or use fresh if you have it!)

1 large white onion

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Set a large pot of water to boil. Wash the tomatoes and cut out the tops. Cut an "X" shape across the top of the tomatoes.

Chop the onion and garlic, and saute in a pot with the olive oil until fragrant. 

Drop each tomato into the separate pot of boiling water for a few seconds. By the time I dropped in the last tomato, the first was ready to come out. This loosens the skin and makes the tomatoes very easy to peel.

Peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds, leaving you with only the meaty part of each tomato. There is no need to dice or chop these at all- they will cook down. Add the tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper to the pot with the onions and bring to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for 2-3 hours. 

Remove the mixture from heat and puree with an immersion blender, or pour into a regular blender and blend to desired texture. We found the regular blender to be easier and less messy!

Voila! This pasta sauce was incredibly delicious. It has a bright, fresh flavor that is simply unmatched by canned sauces. This sauce can be canned (follow can manufacturer's instructions) or frozen for later use. The recipe above yielded about 3-4 cups of sauce.

Do you grow your own tomatoes? What is your favorite way to use them? Please share in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy this delicious Fresh Pasta Sauce recipe! 

xo Allison