Best Cooks Illustrated Quick Tomato Sauce Recipes

THE BEST TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the olive oil and garlic cloves in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes (do not let the garlic burn). Once the cloves are nicely browned remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the onion to the garlic-infused oil and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Crush the can of San Marzano tomatoes into the pot with your hands, then fill the can with water and pour it into the sauce. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, granulated garlic, onion powder and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Finely chop the reserved browned garlic cloves and add to the sauce.
• Stir in the Parmesan rind, if using, and the basil sprig. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has deepened in color and reduced slightly, about 1 hour 30 minutes (if the sauce begins to scorch, lower the heat). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the Parmesan rind and basil before serving.

10 MINUTE TOMATO SAUCE FROM AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN

Steps:

• Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup grated onion. Saute 2 minutes. Add oregano and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook with stirring 3 minutes until onions begin to brown. Add crushed garlic. Cook 30 seconds. Add crushed tomatoes and sugar. Turn heat to high and cook with stirring until simmering. Turn heat to medium low. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in olive oil and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta.

COOKS ILLUSTRATED QUICK TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar; increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minute. Off hear, stir in basil and oil; season with salt and pepper.

QUICK TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Open the can of tomatoes and pour off the juice into a bowl. Use the lid to press against the tomatoes to extract as much juice as possible. Then use your hand to squeeze the tomatoes to a pulp. Reserve the juice and pulp separately and set the empty can aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat until hot. If using the jalapeno, tilt the pan to collect the oil in a little pool against the side and drop the jalapeno into the oil. Cook until lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Remove the jalapeno and reserve.
• Add the onion to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook briefly until light gold. Add the tomato juice and bring to a boil. Simmer rapidly for several minutes. Add the crushed tomato pulp. Then rinse the remaining pulp out of the can by filling it halfway with water and add that to the pan. Add the bay leaf, jalapeno, if using, and salt and pepper, to taste, and return to a boil. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and stir. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until the mixture thickens and the tomatoes have turned an orange red versus the pale blue red they were straight from the can, about 30 minutes. Add the oregano halfway through the cooking.
• Discard the bay leaf. Peel, seed and mash the jalapeno with a spoonful of the sauce and pass at the table so diners can add as much heat s they like to their plates.
• Variation for quick tomato sauce: substitute 2 pounds vine ripened tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. Peel the tomatoes, cut in 1/2 crosswise, and squeeze out the juice and seeds over a sieve suspended over a bowl. Chop the tomatoes. Proceed as directed, omitting the dried tomatoes and using jalapeno, if desired. The recipe may be increased proportionately.

SIMPLE TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a large, straight-sided skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Add garlic and cook until just lightly golden. Add chile flakes if desired and cook 30 seconds.
• Stir in tomatoes and juices, basil or bay leaf, and salt and pepper.
• Bring sauce to a simmer and cook until sauce is thick and tomatoes have mostly fallen apart, about 30 to 40 minutes. Adjust heat as needed to keep at a steady simmer. If using whole plum tomatoes, mash them up with the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher to help them break down. Remove sauce from heat and discard basil or bay leaf.

QUICK FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut tomatoes in half horizontally. Squeeze out the seeds and discard, if you wish. Press the cut side of tomato against the large holes of a box grater and grate tomato flesh into a bowl. Discard skins. You should have about 4 cups.
• Put tomato pulp in a low wide saucepan over high heat. Add salt, olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, basil and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a brisk simmer.
• Reduce the sauce by almost half, stirring occasionally, to produce about 2 1/2 cups medium-thick sauce, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt. It will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator or may be frozen.