Best Classic Tomato Sauce Recipes

CLASSIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, bay leaf, oregano, garlic, and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir constantly until the sauce begins to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent the sauce on the bottom of the pot from burning. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired. Remove the bay leaf before serving.

CLASSIC MEATLOAF WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, cook for 4-5 mins over a low heat, then stir in the garlic. Leave to cool completely.
• To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion, carrot and celery for 3-4 mins, then add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the passata and bring to a simmer, then season and cook for 5 mins.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Mix the cooled onion with the tomato purée, mince, egg and breadcrumbs, and season. Line a 900g loaf tin with a liner or baking parchment and pack in the meatloaf mixture. Cook for 20-25 mins or until a skewer poked into the centre feels roasting hot when pulled out. Leave to rest for 10 mins before lifting out of the tin.
• Serve slices of the meatloaf with some tomato sauce spooned over. Wrap any remaining meatloaf and use it as a sandwich filling for a lunchbox. Can be frozen for up to a month.

CLASSIC MEAT TORTELLINI WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the filling: Add 3 tablespoons olive oil to a large cast-iron pan set over medium-high heat. Crumble in ground beef and pork and reduce heat to medium. Using the edge of a metal spoon, break up clumps of meat as they form, stirring regularly. Once the meat is evenly broken up, continue to cook, stirring only occasionally, until all of the water has evaporated and the cooking sounds change from steaming to sizzling, about 7 to 8 minutes.
• As the meat begins to brown, clear a spot in the center of the pan and add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the garlic. Cook the garlic until it starts to release an aroma, about 20 seconds, then stir it into the meat and cook another 30 seconds or so. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine meat mixture, mortadella, Parmesan, parsley, nutmeg, cloves, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Pulse to combine, then taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Add eggs and pulse, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth and tacky. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble ravioli.
• Make the tomato sauce: Pour tomatoes and their juices into a medium bowl and use your hands to crush them. Pour 1/4 cup water into the can and swirl, then add to tomatoes. Set aside.
• Set a small Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When it shimmers, add onion and a generous pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes.
• Move onions to the edges of the pot and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add garlic and allow it to gently sizzle, about 20 seconds. Before the garlic has a chance to start browning, stir it into the onions and add tomatoes. Season with salt and oregano or basil and bring to a hard simmer. Stir, then reduce heat to low and cover pot (to prevent splattering). Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes or until raw tomato taste is gone. (Tomato sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated.)
• Shape the tortellini: Place a sheet of pasta on your workspace and dust off any excess flour. One sheet at a time, cut the pasta into 2 1/2-inch squares, or use a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter to cut rounds from the pasta sheets. As you cut or punch, stack and store the pieces under a lightly dampened dish towel or in a plastic bag to keep them from drying out.
• On a clean work counter, lay out about 15 pasta rounds or squares at a time, and spoon rounded teaspoonfuls of filling onto the pasta, just off center. Use a spray bottle or wet pastry brush to lightly dampen the edges of the pasta.
• One at a time, pick up a piece of pasta and fold in half over the filling, squeezing out air bubbles as you press the dough around the filling with dry fingers to seal the tortellino. If you're working with circles, you'll be left with a half-moon shape. If using squares, fold corner-to-corner to form a triangle.
• Holding a tortellino in one hand, use your other index finger to gently poke an indent into the center of its base (the bottom of the filling). Folding the tortellino around the indent, draw both of its bottom corners together as if forming a fortune cookie. Overlap the corners and press to seal them together.
• Toss lightly with semolina flour, then lay out in a single layer on the second prepared baking sheet. Continue with remaining pasta and filling.
• Finish the tomato sauce and cook the pasta: Set a large pot filled with 5 quarts of water over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Add 6 tablespoons fine sea salt or 1/2 cup kosher salt. Drop 48 tortellini into the water and stir.
• Remove the sauce from heat and stir in 1/4 cup olive oil. Pass sauce through a food mill or use a stick blender to puree. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Set a large frying pan with curved edges on the stove over low heat. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.
• When the tortellini are cooked, about 3 to 4 minutes, use a spider or skimmer to lift them out, shake off excess water, and place directly into the pan of sauce. Toss and swirl tortellini in sauce until they are all evenly covered. If the sauce is too thick, add pasta water 1 teaspoon at a time to loosen. The sauce should cling to the pasta without appearing to seize. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan.

CLASSIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, bay leaf, oregano, garlic, and salt. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue cooking 5 minutes more.
• Add tomatoes and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent burning. Season with salt, if desired. Remove bay leaf before serving.

CLASSIC TOMATO BASIL SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut an X in the bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water for 10 seconds. Immediately transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool, then peel, seed and chop. Cook garlic in oil in a small, heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper and add fresh basil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

MARCELLA HAZAN'S CLASSIC ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Put a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, butter, onion halves, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat. Crush the tomatoes lightly with the back of a spoon as they cook, and stir occasionally. Simmer very gently for 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat appear on the surface of the tomatoes. Remove and discard the onion.

CLASSIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, and white wine until fully incorporated, and then set aside. Chef's Note: I was about ten, when I first watched my Aunt Josephine make this recipe, she poured some wine into a bowl, and some into a small glass. She looked at me winked, and said: Some for the recipe, and some for me. I got my first taste of wine that day...
• 2. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, turn them up-side-down, and cut a small X on the bottom of the tomato with a small pairing knife. Just deep enough to pierce the skin.
• 3. Blanch the Tomatoes Fill a large bowl with water and ice. The bowl should be big enough to hold the ice, water, and the tomatoes. Put a large pot of water on the boil, and then add a few tablespoons of table salt. The pot should be large enough to hold the boiling water, and two tomatoes at a time without boiling over. Carefully put the tomatoes into the rolling boiling water... two at a time, for about 30 to 60 seconds. In most cases you should be able to see the skin, where you made the X, begin pulling away from the flesh of the tomato. Immediately, move the tomatoes from the boiling water to the ice bath. Continue the process until all the tomatoes have been properly blanched, and are sitting happily in the ice bath. You should be able to go to the bottom of the tomato, where you made the X cut, and simply grab and easily peel back the skin. Chef's Note: What is Blanching? Moving the tomatoes from a hot to a cold liquid is called blanching. It helps to loosen the skin for peeling. But that's not all, in addition to helping in the peeling process, blanching helps to set the bright green color of some vegetables, and keeps other vegetables from turning gray like: asparagus, greens, peas, and green beans. It's also used for preparing vegetables for freezing. The ice bath shocks the vegetable (I would be pretty shocked if you dropped me into an ice bath), and quickly stops the cooking process that was initiated by the hot water.
• 4. Use a small paring knife to dig out the tough part at the top of the tomato that held the stem. Quarter the tomatoes, and then place into a food processor fitted with an S-blade, and add the tomato paste/wine mixture. Chef's Note: The tomato paste is the only canned vegetable we're using in this recipe. Tomato Paste is cooked down tomatoes, to the point where they can be scooped with a spoon but will not flow. Very thick, like peanut butter. Tomato paste is generally thinned with wine, broth or water. Just a small amount added to soups, chili and stews gives tomato flavor while helping to thicken the stock. In this case, the tomato paste, and wine mixture will compliment the fresh tomatoes and add some needed body to the sauce. This is called building "layers" of flavor.
• 5. Give the tomatoes a few quick pulses in the food processor. Chef's Note: This step determines the consistency of your tomato sauce. Some cooks like to process until the tomatoes are almost the consistency of a puree. Aunt Josephine preferred hers a bit chunky, and so do I. Chef's Note: If you don't have a food processor, or you just don't want to use it, you can always put them on a cutting board, and have at them with your trusty kitchen knife, and then put them into a bowl, and add the wine. Reserve the chopped tomatoes. Chef's Tip: To save on cleaning another bowl, you can just leave them in the bowl of the food processor.
• 6. Variation on a theme. If you want a deeper flavor to the sauce try this. Don't mix the tomato paste with the wine. Instead, in step 4, only add the tomatoes and the wine to the food processor, and continue with step 5... don't add the tomato paste. Then, add the tomato paste with the other ingredients in step 9. Cooking the tomato paste a bit will concentrate its flavor, and also help to infuse that deep tomato taste into the herbs, onions, and carrots. Continue with the rest of the recipe, as written.
• 7. Add the olive oil to a large pot, and heat over medium heat. Chef's Note: This pot needs to be big enough to eventually hold all of the ingredients.
• 8. Add the chopped onions, and grated carrots, then cook stirring often, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Chef's Note: The whole process will come to a screeching halt if you let any of the ingredients brown, or burn. The onions should be lightly sizzling in the oil, but not frying. So, that 6-8 minute time is just a suggestion. Keep an eye on the veggies. Fresh Versus Dried Herbs Dried herbs are generally more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, so you'll need less. The ratio is typically three times the amount of fresh herbs as dry. This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon of dried... a teaspoon is 1/3 of a tablespoon. How to Store Herbs Fresh herbs should be wrapped in a paper towel, stored in a resealable plastic bag, and then placed into the refrigerator. Depending on how fresh they were when you bought them, you should get an addition week to ten days use out of them. Dried herbs should be stored out of the light and in a cool, dry place. Once that jar has opened, the herbs will begin to lose their potency. A general rule is: Whole dried: 2 years. Cut, dried: 1 year. Powered: 6 months. Of course the best approach is to grow your own, and just cut what you need. Time to go back to the farm.
• 9. Add the bay leaves, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and continue to cook; stirring often, an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Don't let the veggies brown or burn. Chef's Note: The chemical nature of the salt will work with the proteins in the vegetables to pull the different flavors of this sauce together; however, a tablespoon of salt, is a lot of salt. You might try adding half the salt, and then in step 10, add more as the sauce is simmering. Assuming you feel it needs any more. You can always add more salt, if needed; however, it's kind of hard to remove it, if it's too much.
• 10. Add the reserved chopped tomatoes, and slowly simmer for about 30 minutes. As the sauce is simmering, taste and add additional salt as you go. Chef's Note: Adding salt at the end of the cooking process makes the sauce taste salty... Adding it as you cook makes the sauce taste seasoned. Chef's Note: Remember to fish out and discard the bay leaves before serving.
• 11. Additional Cooking Note: This recipe works best with fresh ingredients; however, there are times when you just can't find any good, fresh tomatoes. Personally, I find the basic tomatoes that you find at your local super grocer bland and tasteless lumps (I miss the mom-and-pop grocery stores that I grew up with). I have tried this recipe with two "store bought" varieties: One in a can, and one in a box. Hunts Whole Plum Tomatoes: In a can, but I'll admit that they do have good flavor, and as opposed to other specialty brands, they are relatively easy to find in most stores. Pomi Whole Plum Tomatoes: They come in a box, and get very high ratings from other chefs as to freshness, and taste; however, they do cost more than Hunts tomatoes and not all stores carry the Pomi brand.
• 12. Serving Suggestions: You could plate up a bunch of pasta: Capellini, Fusilli Bucati, Pici... your choice, and ladle some sauce on top. Add a bit of freshly-grated parmesan, maybe a sprinkle of crushed red pepper, and dig in. Don't forget the wine, and a nice loaf of crusty bread. This sauce also goes well with my Aunt Josephine's meatballs, or anybody else's meatballs for that matter. Whatever you do, share it around a table with good friends and family. Remember, friends don't let friends eat alone... share the love. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
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CLASSIC TOMATO SAUCE FOR PASTA

Steps:

• score an X on the bottom of each tomatoe and blanch individually in boiling water for 10 seconds. Transfer immediately to ice water. Peel skin off blanched tomatoes and core. Chop tomatoes reserving any juice. Heat olive oil in saucepan and add garlic over medium high heat. Saute 1 minute. Add shallot and onion. Saute until onion is softened. Stir in red wine. Stir in tomatoes plus juices. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add Maldon salt, Worcestershire Sauce and balsamic vinegar to taste. Add oregano and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to food processor. Pulse blend 30 seconds.

CLASSIC TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, bay leaf, oregano, garlic, and salt and cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir constantly until the sauce begins to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 5 minutes or so to prevent the sauce on the bottom of the pot from burning. Taste and season with additional salt, if desired. Remove the bay leaf before serving.