Tomato Pepper Sauce Recipes

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.

TOMATO SAUCE WITH PEPPERS

Steps:

• Blend tomatoes thoroughly in food processor or electric blender.
• Heat oil in sauce pan and add garlic and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Do not brown.
• Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer, uncovered, about seven minutes.

TOMATO-PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Place peppers directly over a gas-stove burner on high heat. As each section turns puffy and black, turn with tongs to prevent overcooking. (Or place peppers on a baking pan; broil in oven, turning as each side becomes charred.) Transfer to a large bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Let sweat until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Transfer to work surface. Peel off blackened skin; discard. Halve; discard seeds. Roughly chop flesh; set aside.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Cook until onion is tender, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, stock, oregano, and peppers. Bring to a gentle simmer; cook until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; serve. The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen up to 1 month.

STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Prepare the Chicken Filling. When cool, stir in cooked rice. Reserve. Prepare the Tomato Sauce. Set aside and keep warm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Wash the peppers under cold water. Wipe dry. Cut the top 1-inch of the peppers off, keeping the stem intact. Reserve. Remove the core and seeds. Brush inside and outside with olive oil. Season inside with salt and pepper.
• Divide the filling into 6 portions and fill each pepper to the top. Place the lids back on top. In a roasting pan, place the stuffed peppers and the hot Tomato Sauce. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until done. Serve in heated plates garnished with minced parsley.
• Coarsely grind the chicken and transfer to a large bowl. Reserve.
• In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over moderate heat. Saute the onion until translucent. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until all the liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. Cool.
• Stir the onion and mushroom mixture into the ground chicken. Add the remaining ingredients and combine well. To test for taste, saute a small amount in a little oil and adjust seasoning.
• Reserve as stuffing for Green Peppers with Tomato Sauce.
• Yield: about 4 cups
• Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, "Adventures in the Kitchen" Random House, 1991
• In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil. Over medium heat, saute the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Add the tomato paste, tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce thickens.
• Strain into a clean saucepan. Whisk in butter, piece by piece. Add basil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Use as needed.
• Yield: Makes 2 1/2 cups
• Place the chicken bones in a 6 or 7-quart pot, pour cold water over to cover, and bring to a rolling boil. Skim off the foam and fat that collects on the top.
• Add the remaining ingredients, lower the heat to a simmer, and simmer uncovered for 2 to 3 hours, skimming as necessary. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl and cool. Refrigerate, covered, for up to 3 days, discarding the hardened layer of fat before using or freezing.
• Yield: Makes about 2 quarts
• Recipe courtesy Wolfgang Puck, "Pizza, Pasta & More!" Random House, 2000

ROASTED RED PEPPER TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Cut off and discard top quarter of garlic head and wrap remainder in foil. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in a foil-lined 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan and sprinkle lightly with salt. Add whole bell pepper and garlic (in foil) to pan and roast vegetables in middle of oven 1 hour.
• Transfer bell pepper to a bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap, then let stand about 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel pepper, discarding stem and seeds, and transfer to a food processor or blender along with tomatoes.
• Unwrap garlic and squeeze roasted cloves from skin into food processor. Add remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste, then purée sauce until smooth.

TOMATO & RED PEPPER SAUCE

Steps:

• Cook the onions in a little oil until softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then add the peppers and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes, red wine, herbs and season well. Mix thoroughly and simmer down for 20 mins or so.
• Squeeze the baby plum tomatoes between your fingers and rip the flesh into 3 or 4 pieces, adding the flesh and the juice to the sauce. Cook down a little more. If you want the sauce for fish or chicken, you need to cook it down to a thick consistency. If it is for pasta on its own you want it a bit runnier. If it is for pasta and meatballs you want it runnier still as it needs to coat the pasta as well as the meatballs. Use your judgement. Whichever way you are serving this sauce it is great with freshly grated parmesan over the top!

FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; add tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, garlic, white wine and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix ingredients well; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve.

PASTA WITH PEPPER AND TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes, and add the garlic and peppers. Add a generous pinch of salt, and cook, stirring often, until the peppers have softened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, basil sprig, salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring from time to time, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat, about 10 minutes. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer another 15 to 20 minutes (or longer), stirring occasionally until the mixture is thick and fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Remove the basil sprig, and put the peppers and tomatoes through the fine blade of a food mill, or puree in a food processor and press through a strainer. Return to the pan, and keep the sauce warm while you cook the pasta.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously, and add the pasta. Cook al dente, following the timing instructions on the package but checking a minute before the indicated cooking time. Stir 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water into the sauce, then drain the pasta and toss with the sauce. Serve with Parmesan or grated ricotta salata.