Tomato sauce, like the tomatoes themselves, came to us from America, where these vegetables were grown by the ancient Indians and used to make a fragrant sauce with the addition of various herbs.
When tomatoes appeared in Europe, they did not immediately begin to eat them, initially it was an exclusively ornamental plant, which was even considered poisonous. But after the taste of this vegetable was tasted, its triumphant march across the mainland could no longer be stopped.
It is impossible to imagine Italian cuisine without tomato paste, it has become one of the symbols of this country, the Spaniards also add tomato paste to their national dishes, and one need not even say how popular tomato paste is in their homeland – in America.
In addition to the fact that tomato paste gives an unforgettable taste to many dishes, it also has useful qualities. The fact is that tomatoes do not lose their beneficial properties during heat treatment, and their taste becomes even more intense.
Tomato paste is made from ripe soft fruits, unripe tomatoes are not suitable for this. Various herbs and spices serve as ingredients for tomato paste, thanks to which you can experiment with the taste of the product.
The sheer number of store-bought tomato sauces cannot be compared to the do-it-yourself tomato paste. Even if you don’t have ripe and juicy tomatoes at hand, you can buy canned tomatoes in your own juice and make a great sauce from them.
Classic tomato sauce
Ingredients:
- Tomato – 800 gr.
- Olive oil – 1 Art. l
- Garlic – 1 clove
- Luk – 1 No.
- Basil – small bunch
- Salt – to taste
- Spices – to taste
If you don’t have fresh, ripe tomatoes on hand, you can use the tomatoes in their own juice. Boil fresh tomatoes with boiling water, remove the skin from them, cut into small pieces and rub through a sieve. If you are making a sauce from canned tomatoes, rub them through a sieve as well.
Fry finely chopped garlic over low heat. Add finely chopped onion to it and sauté until transparent.
Add tomato puree and chopped basil.
Cook the sauce over low heat for about an hour, stirring occasionally. At the very end, add salt and spices.
The tomato sauce is ready. Serve it with pasta or other dishes.
Spicy tomato sauce
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes – 200 gr.
- Garlic – 10 gr.
- Hot pepper – to taste
- Horseradish – 1 tsp
- Sugar – 1/3 tsp
- Salt – 1/2 tsp.
Cut the tomatoes, it is optimal to peel them and rub through a sieve, but if you have little time or just don’t want to mess around for a long time, then you can simply chop and send them to a blender along with peeled garlic.
Add salt, sugar, horseradish and hot pepper. Beat again with a blender.
The sauce is ready, you can serve it with meat, kebabs, sausages, sausages and other dishes.
Tomato sauce for cutlets or meatballs
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes in their own juice – 1 can
- Pepper to taste
- Salt – to taste
- Sugar to taste
Rub the tomatoes through a sieve, mix them with a blender with salt and pepper, if necessary, add a little sugar. Pour the sauce into the frying pan where the cutlets or meatballs are fried and leave under the lid for a few minutes.
You can simply reheat the sauce in a skillet and serve separately with the skillet.
Homemade ketchup
Stopping at the grocery store by the tomato paste and ketchup shelf, consider whether you need to buy a preservative product when you can make delicious and delicious ketchup yourself at home.
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes – 2 kg.
- Garlic – 3 cloves
- Onion – 1 piece
- Wine vinegar – 100 gr.
- Sugar – 100 gr.
- Chili pepper – 1 pc.
- Coriander – 1/2 tsp.
- Ginger – 1/2 tsp
- Cinnamon – 1 tsp
- Cloves – 1 tsp
- Allspice – 1/2 tsp
- Paprika – 2 tsp.
- Salt – to taste
Cut the tomatoes into small pieces, place them in a large saucepan and cook for about five minutes until they juice and soften.
Rub the resulting mass through a sieve. Pour it back into the pot, add chili and ginger, chopped onion and garlic. Simmer the tomato paste over low heat until the onions and garlic are tender, which takes about 20 minutes.
At this time, we will prepare containers for ketchup, these can be jars and bottles with sealed lids, they need to be doused with boiling water.
After the onion and garlic are soft, rub the tomato paste through a sieve and pour back into the pan, add all the spices, salt, sugar and vinegar. Mix thoroughly, if in your opinion you need to add some spices, add without hesitation.
Boil the sauce a little so that it thickens, but do not get carried away with this, as the sauce will become thicker immediately after it cools.
Pour the ketchup into jars, wrap the lids and turn upside down. After the jars have cooled, put them in a dark place for storage.
Enjoy the taste of homemade ketchup.
Bolognese tomato sauce
Ingredients:
- Tomatoes – 1 kg.
- Luk – 2 No.
- Garlic – 2 teeth
- Olive oil – 2 Art. l
- Wine vinegar – 2 tbsp l.
- Basil – a few leaves
- Salt – to taste
- Sugar to taste
- Paprika – 1 tsp.
- Ground black pepper – to taste
- Hot pepper – to taste
- Oregano – to taste
Boil the tomatoes with boiling water, remove the skin from them, cut into small pieces, put in a saucepan and put on low heat.
After the tomatoes have boiled, cook them for about an hour, stirring continuously, until the amount of liquid is reduced by a third.
While the tomatoes are boiling, cut the onion and garlic. Fry them in a separate pan until transparent.
Add to tomato paste. Stir, cook for a couple of minutes, then start adding salt, sugar and spices. Add everything in small portions, stirring thoroughly, and if you are not satisfied with the taste, add a little more.
At the very end, add paprika and wine vinegar. Cook for another two minutes. The sauce is ready.
Bon appetit!
You can diversify the taste of tomato sauce by adding mushrooms, vegetables and other ingredients to your taste. On our site you will find many recipes for making tomato sauce, which can be served immediately after preparation or preserved for the winter.