Tomato sauce for pasta

Trojan

I like making up a batch of this every so often. Use tinned tomatoes, chopped & fried garlic, basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Slow simmer for an hour or so.

I keep it in normal jars that the bought stuff comes in, and in the fridge. I usually end up with 4 or 5 jars of the sauce. My question is how long will this keep and still be safe to eat?

Any suggestions to improve the recipe?

Mr Magnolia

Cook off some lightly smoked bacon lardons before putting in the garlic and onion (shallots are a nice option here too) add a chopped chilli. Then put in a good splash of dry white wine. Add your tomatoes and a tbls of tomato puree, You could add a bay leave or two and a sprig of thyme (remove when sauce is cooked). Seasoning to taste.

Edit/ I don't think you should be keeping the sauce for any length of time Torjan, it's not like pickles that would be preserved in vinegar which wouldn't allow bacterial growth. A few days is all I'd recommend tbh.

BuffyBot

Tomato based sauces freeze pretty well, but won't last overly long in the fridge.

Mr Magnolia

Yeah, freeze it as BuffyBot said. Don't freeze glass jars though, they'll crack. Tupperware's the best for freezing.

bonkey

Trojan wrote: »

I like making up a batch of this every so often. Use tinned tomatoes, chopped & fried garlic, basil, salt, pepper and sugar. Slow simmer for an hour or so.

I keep it in normal jars that the bought stuff comes in, and in the fridge. I usually end up with 4 or 5 jars of the sauce. My question is how long will this keep and still be safe to eat?

Any suggestions to improve the recipe?

Unlike Mr. magnolia, I'd usually go with red wine instead of white.
Definitely agree with the bay leaves & chilli & tomato puree.

If you want a thicker sauce, then stir a bit of flour through - I would sweat off the garlic & chilli, then add the tomatoes, stir through the flour, then add the red wine, herbs, salt & pepper.

For a change, you can replace the basil w. oregano.

RE*AC*TOR

Simple tomato sauce I make:

1 tin of plum tomatoes (hand crushed by me into the pan).
1 large / 2 small cloves of garlic crushed.
A swig on olive oil.
Pinch of salt.
Pinch of sugar.

Simmer for 20 - 25 minutes.
Taste for seasoning / add salt / pepper to taste.
At the very end (about to serve) I tear up and integrate as much basil as I fancy (hard to use too much).

Mr Magnolia

God yeah, I forgot about the basil in my post above.

joseph brand

Hurrayyyy for Basil. Just used some in my pasta sauce from the basil plant on window sill. I'm so posh. Fresh as can be.

And lots of garlic.

Also, LOAD in the cherry tomatoes. Little beauties.

Thephantomsmask

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Cook off some lightly smoked bacon lardons before putting in the garlic and onion (shallots are a nice option here too) add a chopped chilli. Then put in a good splash of dry white wine. Add your tomatoes and a tbls of tomato puree, You could add a bay leave or two and a sprig of thyme (remove when sauce is cooked). Seasoning to taste.

Edit/ I don't think you should be keeping the sauce for any length of time Torjan, it's not like pickles that would be preserved in vinegar which wouldn't allow bacterial growth. A few days is all I'd recommend tbh.

Chorizo sausage is even better imho, especially with chillies in the sauce.

ETA tomatoes and red peppers lightly chargrilled and crushed up to make the sauce are also great.

Minder

I'm not suggesting you try this, but an Italian friend described a process where the local families would gather to cook the tomato crop. The tomatoes are deseeded and skinned, before being pulped. Garlic and basil are added to the pulp and the mixture is spooned into jars (with tight fitting lids). The Jars are placed in a barrel or cauldron and covered with cold water - the whole lot is slowly brought to a boil and simmered for hours over a large gas burner. The result can be kept for months.

This is an outdoor activity so there is no possibility of a kitchen disaster should something go wrong.

The other tip was to leave the tomato out overnight in a bowl with a smashed garlic clove and a bunch of basil. That helps balance the acidity and there is no need for added sugar.