At yesterday's Cooking Sprouts session at PS24, we used our go-to recipe for tomato sauce! You can definitely get creative with this recipe-- it's great to add any meats or veggies of your choice to make a more balanced meal! We added some eggplant to ours yesterday-- yummy! It’s also great for dishes like chicken parmigiana, eggplant parmigiana, lasagna. Our recipe below will make enough for 8-10 servings.
The sauce freezes and reheats well, so it's perfect for lunches, dinners, and everything in between :)
Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 tiny can of tomato paste (you’ll only need about 3 tablespoons)
1 bunch basil
Olive oil
Recipe:
1. Saute the onions and red pepper flakes (as much as you like) in a tablespoon of olive oil in your heaviest nonreactive pot for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Season with salt to taste.
2. Mix the finely diced garlic with half the tiny can of tomato paste.
3. After 15 minutes, when the onions are pretty well browned, make a spot in the center, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and add the garlic paste mixture. Let the little paste ball get brown before you mix it around (still keeping it alone in the center). It is finished after 5 minutes or so, after you smell a roasted garlic/tomato aroma.
4. Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes and the basil and 2 pinches of ground pepper.
5. In a bowl, have the kids mash up the can of whole tomatoes into chunks with their (washed!) hands. It will give the sauce a hearty texture. Only add the tomatoes, not the liquid from the can; if the sauce still needs liquid, add stock or water, because two full cans of tomatoes will make the sauce too acidic. Discard the extra tomato juice, or save it for another purpose.
6. Simmer sauce for 10 minutes and it’s ready.
Ingredients:
1 large can whole tomatoes
1 large can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 large onions, roughly chopped
1 tiny can of tomato paste (you’ll only need about 3 tablespoons)
1 bunch basil
Olive oil
Recipe:
1. Saute the onions and red pepper flakes (as much as you like) in a tablespoon of olive oil in your heaviest nonreactive pot for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Season with salt to taste.
2. Mix the finely diced garlic with half the tiny can of tomato paste.
3. After 15 minutes, when the onions are pretty well browned, make a spot in the center, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and add the garlic paste mixture. Let the little paste ball get brown before you mix it around (still keeping it alone in the center). It is finished after 5 minutes or so, after you smell a roasted garlic/tomato aroma.
4. Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes and the basil and 2 pinches of ground pepper.
5. In a bowl, have the kids mash up the can of whole tomatoes into chunks with their (washed!) hands. It will give the sauce a hearty texture. Only add the tomatoes, not the liquid from the can; if the sauce still needs liquid, add stock or water, because two full cans of tomatoes will make the sauce too acidic. Discard the extra tomato juice, or save it for another purpose.
6. Simmer sauce for 10 minutes and it’s ready.
