Garden Fresh Tomato Sauce

from ButterYum

makes about 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• • 2 1/2 pounds ripe Italian Roma (plum) tomatoes, roughly chopped

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • splash of red wine (or red wine vinegar)

  • optional: sprig of fresh basil

Directions

• 1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chopped tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and red wine (or vinegar), stirring frequently, until tomatoes soften completely and you can mush them with a wooden spoon (7-10 minutes).

  2. Turn off heat and stir in optional basil sprig; allow tomatoes to cool enough so that they’re easy to handle (20-30 minutes).

  3. Remove basil sprig and process tomatoes in a food mill to remove all the skins.

  4. If your sauce is too thin, you can reduce it over medium heat until it reaches the consistency you like, otherwise, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to a week (or freeze for longer storage).

Notes

• • For a little extra luxury, stir 1 tablespoon butter into hot sauce before serving.

  • To freeze in glass jar, be sure to use a wide-mouth jar and leave 1 inch of headspace before freezing. Plastic freezer bags are also suitable - freeze them flat so the sauce will thaw quickly when needed.