Basic Lean Tomato Sauce Recipes

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel and finely chop the garlic, then gently fry in a thick-bottomed pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Crumble in the chilli, add the oregano and tomatoes.
• Mix gently, but do not break up the tomatoes as this will release the pips, which will make the sauce slightly bitter - by leaving the tomatoes whole and letting the mixture cook slowly you'll get a nice sweet sauce. (You can remove the pips from the tomatoes if you want, but I don't bother.) Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 1 hour.
• Add the vinegar to the pan, then stir and chop up the tomatoes in the sauce.
• Pick the basil or marjoram and roughly chop, then add to the pan.
• Season well to taste with sea salt and black pepper, and finish with 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.

HOMEMADE TOMATO SAUCE I

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.
• In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.

BASIC LEAN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Put the onion in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring, a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook until the onion is tender.
• Add the tomatoes and cook over medium high heat until they start to thicken, about 15 minutes. Stir in the bouillon or meat juices, sugar, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.
• Just before serving, reheat and stir in the olive oil.

SIMPLE TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
• Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
• If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

EASY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, cook until juice begins to thicken. Stir in puree, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes more, until rich and thick.

MARIO BATALI'S BASIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent, but not brown.
• add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more.
• add the tomatoes.
• bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• season with salt to taste.
• serve immediately.
• the sauce may br refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to 6 months.

BASIC LEAN MEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Heat a nonstick skillet, add onion and cook over low heat, stirring, about five minutes, until the onion starts to soften. Add garlic, stir, and cook over low heat 10 to 15 minutes longer, until onion and garlic start to brown. Remove from heat.
• While the onion and garlic are cooking, put the bread crumbs in a bowl, moisten with half a cup of water and allow to soak.
• Put the ground beef in a mixing bowl, the bowl of an electric mixer or a food processor. Add the egg white, cooked onion and garlic, thyme, sage, vinegar, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Squeeze out be bread crumbs and add them. Mix all the ingredients until they are very well blended by hand, with an electric beater or in a food processor.
• Pack the mixture into a loaf pan 8 by 4 by 2 inches. Put in the oven and bake an hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and pour all the liquid in the pan into a bowl. Skim off all the fat. Use the remaining juices as a light sauce for the meat loaf or add them to the tomato sauce. Serve with tomato sauce if desired, or prepared ketchup.