cw (06/27/82)
Fresh Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
2 doz fresh tomatoes
2-3 chopped onions
2-3 Tbl olive oil or butter
2-3 cup red wine
1-2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp oregano
1/2-1 tsp sage (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 crumbled bay leaves
1 tsp cinnamon
6 cloves crushed garlic
Method
Clean the tomatoes. They may be skinned by being dipped in
boiling water; certainly you must cut out stems and bad
spots and you must squeeze out the jelly and seeds. Saute
the onions in the oil in a large pot. When the onions are
lightly browned, add the tomatoes, wine, spices, and garlic.
If you like, you can also add similar quantities of
marjoram, rosemary, or basil. Bring the sauce to a mild
boil and simmer for several hours until reduced by perhaps
one fourth.
Remove the sauce from the heat and cool until you can handle
it safely. Pass the sauce through a blender or food
processor several cups at a time and through a coarse sieve.
You must do this if you did not skin the tomatoes; this step
will pill the skins in the strainer. Return the sauce to
the pot for further cooking.
Simmer the sauce again until reduced to about 2/3 of the
original volume. Check the acid/sugar balance and add
either (or both) 1-2 tsp of sugar or up to 1 Tbl of red wine
or cider vinegar. Recheck the spices. If you use canned
tomatoes, the sugar and vinegar will very likely be
necessary.
Cool sauce and use as desired.
Notes
All the quantities in this recipe are approximate. Use good
sense and taste often. The red wine should be a reasonable
quality jug or table wine; wines with a fair quantity of
sugar will do no harm.