Simple Fresh Garden Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes are one of those bountiful summer vegetables that just keep producing. How many times has a friend or neighbor offered you a bag of tomatoes because they have more than they know what to do with? Or do you grow tomatoes and find yourself flooded with them? They are also very low priced during the summer months as markets are swimming in them and farmers need to move them fast because their shelf life isn’t long. Therefore, having a basic fresh tomato sauce recipe on hand is a good thing since it’s not only healthy and tasty, but very economical. Today’s post is my go-to garden tomato sauce recipe. It is clean eating that is full of flavor and a great part of healthy diet.

This fresh and chunky tomato sauce is bright, lively, and full of other good vegetables such as carrots, onions, and garlic. When summer is here, I want to take full advantage of cooking fresh and keeping food light, yet full of flavor. Additionally, this recipe stays light by avoiding the sugar that is often in tomato sauces by using a carrot for sweetness instead. I feel healthier already!

Which Tomatoes?

When it comes to which tomatoes to use for sauce Roma tomatoes are the best choice because of their tomato paste quality. These tomatoes are also easy to grow and are high yielding, so if you’ve never grown them before they are an easy one to care for.

Herbs??

Another nice thing about this recipe is that you can use different herbs such as basil, oregano, or marjoram. I use marjoram in this recipe as it’s a milder and sweeter relative of oregano. Just pick the herbs of your choice and enjoy.

Now for the wine…

On the wine, you can use cooking wine or leftover red wine. The addition of red wine to this sauce adds depth and flavor plus it is a good way to use up the last bit of leftover red wine. However, you can use this recipe as an excuse to crack open a good bottle of red and cook with some and drink the rest. Any dry, non-sparkling red wine will work here, so it doesn’t need to be expensive.

Don’t be daunted by the idea of cooking a fresh tomato sauce. This is a wonderful weekend cooking project that is easy and allows you to enjoy the day. However, if you really want to make it a project then make homemade pasta to go with it. Homemade pasta is much more labor intensive, but so incredibly yummy! Now onto the recipe

Fresh Garden Tomato Sauce

Prep and cooking time approx. 1.5 hrs

Yield approx. 1 generous quart of sauce

5 lbs. of Roma Tomatoes

1/2 cup red cooking wine (or leftover red wine)

1 large carrot or 2 small ones

1/2 sweet onion

2 large cloves of garlic

2-3 tsp of sea salt (to taste)

2 tbsp. fresh herbs of choice such as basil, oregano, or marjoram

Olive oil

Prep

Wash, chop, and remove seeds from tomatoes.

Remove tops and ends of carrots, then peel and dice.

Remove outer skin and chop sweet onion.

Mince garlic.

Assemble

Start by sautéing carrots, onion, and garlic in a couple of tbsps. of olive oil till soft. Stir occasionally. This should take about 8-10 minutes. While the carrot mixture is cooking start cook the tomatoes. First, add 1/4 of olive oil to pot large enough for tomatoes. Cook tomatoes over med. low heat until they begin to break up. At this point add the carrot mixture, 2 tsps. of salt, 1/2 cup of red wine, and herbs. Continue to simmer sauce for about 45 minutes. If desired, add additional salt. Serve with fresh pasta.

Note for parents: if chunky sauces scare your kids then blend sauce until smooth with a stick blender or food processor.

Doesn’t this look delish! Next time I am going to try adding some fresh zucchini as well. Have an amazing day!

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