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Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s ?

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Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s ?

Postby Alexandria » Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:57 am

Have a lovely weekend .. :thumbsup :thumbsup

We are on holiday until May 3rd .. So, a quick pasta today and then we shall drive up to Costa Brava until Monday evening ..

This simple recipe makes enough sauce for 4 people.

Great Grandmother´s Italian Tomato Sauce: :clap :clap

1 tblsp. salt
1 / 2 tblsp. sugar
500 grams ( 1/2 kilo ) of red ripe tomatoes ( we use pear shape tomatoes, halved lengthwise and cored, and coarsely chopped )
2 garlic cloves minced
Italian Bio Evoo
Loosely packed fresh basil ( 1 / 2 handful)

1) I toss the salt and the sugar with the tomatoes in a large glass bowl, and let stand 15 minutes.
2) Then, I sauté the minced garlic in Evoo in a wide 8 quart or 10 quart heavy pot over low slow flame, stirring occasionally until golden.
3) Add the tomato mixture and the basil leaves shredded and bring to a boil covered, stirring occasionally.
4) Then we reduce the heat and simmer on a low slow flame uncovered ..
5) Stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens and is reduced by half, 2 to 3 hours ..
6) Then I take the sauce and place it in a food mill, into a large bowl and discard the solids and ladle the sauce into a clean glass bowl and let it cool ..

Then, I prepare my pasta of choice ..

Have a lovely weekend .. :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Apr 27, 2018 2:48 pm

I quite like the idea of mixing the tomatoes with salt and sugar before cooking, rather as you pre- mix the sugar and fruit for some jam recipes

But I don't think I would like a whole tablespoon of salt to just 500 g of tomatoes, too much for me, a teaspoon would be enough

And do you really mean a wide 8 quart or 10 quart heavy pot ? That would hold 8 to 10 litres, and the bucket I use for washing floors only holds 5 litres, so it would be very big!

When I used to make tomato sauce in bulk I roughly followed an Elizabeth David recipe. I sauteed a couple of carrots, onions and some garlic in evoo, added whole ripe tomatoes to fill the big pot, tossed them to coat with the oil, then cooked very slowly in the oven until everything collapsed to sauce which I would puree through a Mouli, then heat and reduce the sauce adding salt, sugar, and basil to taste.
The use of root veg sounds odd, but naturally thickens and sweetens the sauce, the carrots, somewhat surprisingly, improve the colour too

Haven't done this for ages, as I no longer grow my own tomatoes, and I can no longer get the wonderful cheap Moroccan ones they used to sell in the market

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Alexandria » Fri Apr 27, 2018 4:20 pm

Sue, :thumbsup

Sauce has a tendency "to splatter" and thus, the reason for a large pot ..

I use a flattened tablespoon of salt, not a heaping ..

I use carrot and onion if preparing a Ragù but this is a simple Marinara so I do not add anything else except what I stated in recipe ..

One can use Canned or Tinned San Marzano if they wish too ..


Have a nice weekend .. :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Sat Apr 28, 2018 11:27 am

I make my tomato sauce fairly similar to Member 461's, but without the salt. I also use tinned tomatoes unless we have plenty of our homegrown ones. If I have got a fresh tomato in the house I might add one to the tinned ones. I season mine with Worcester sauce, balsamic vinegar and use dried herbs because it's more convenient for me. I hate wasting stuff and the more delicate fresh herbs would normally go to waste in this house. My husband is also not very keen on fresh basil although he has eaten the dried stuff in the dried Italian herb mix we can get in our local supermarket. We do have rosemary, bay and chives growing in our garden though.

I normally make smaller quantities of the sauce, although if I'm making it for a pizza, I don;t use all of it so the leftovers get used the next day in a Jambalaya inspired rice dish

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Alexandria » Sat Apr 28, 2018 12:01 pm

Strictly Salsa, :thumbsup :thumbsup

Thank you for your feedback ..

Yes, I sometimes put in a tiny pinch of dried oregano, parsley, thyme, basil and winter savoury or summer savoury ..

On our terrace, we grow our own basil, oregano, thyme, Rosemary, Winter and Summer Savoury and parsley so we prefer the fresh herbs ..

Have a lovely weekend .. :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Renee » Sat Apr 28, 2018 2:32 pm

I shall be making a tomato sauce very soon, Member 461 and it will be very similar to your Great Grandmother's, but I use light brown soft sugar and some balsamic vinegar, but no salt.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Alexandria » Sat Apr 28, 2018 2:51 pm

Renée. :thumbsup

I use ground fine " raw golden sugar " not white ..

The Balsamic Vinegar is interesting ..

How many teaspoons do you add ?

Have a very lovely weekend .. :wave :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Renee » Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:07 pm

Sorry, I have no idea!! There's a lot of guesswork involved! I suppose it depends of the quantity, but maybe three teaspoons. I find that the sugar balances the flavours.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Alexandria » Sat Apr 28, 2018 5:24 pm

Renée, :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

Thank you !

Have a lovely weekend .. :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby karadekoolaid » Sat Apr 28, 2018 7:56 pm

When I´m giving Food Courses, there´s always a question of how much salt or herbs or other condiments you might add to a certain dish.
I always reply with the same answer: if you give 10 people some tomatoes, garlic, oil, herbs and s & p, and ask them to make a tomato sauce, you´ll be sure to have 10 different sauces.

Having said that, my ingredients are identical to those of Member 461. I add sugar if the tomatoes are a little bitter; I add salt according to taste - I don´t automatically add what the recipe says. I add the basil near the end of the cooking process, as I like to taste the freshness of the herb. The sauce probably comes out differently every time I cook it.

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Re: Great Grandmother´s Tomato Sauce & How do you do your´s

Postby Alexandria » Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:43 pm

Karakoolaide, :thumbsup :thumbsup

Yes, Marinara does tend to come out slightly different each time we prepare it ..

Yes, I also usually put the basil in at the end too, however, each one of us, since my great Grandmom, have prepared it with our own nuances ..

Still all wonderful !! :wave :wave

Have a lovely weekend .. :wave :wave :wave :wave :wave
Barcelona, soulful & spirited, filled with fine art, amazing architecture, profoundly steeped in culture & history, and it engages all your senses, and food fancies.

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