Mom's tomato sauce with CSA veggies

This week I received heirloom tomatoes, sweet peppers and basil in my organic CSA veggie box.  These all happen to be ingredients in this awesome tomato sauce my mom makes.  But Karla, why would you use beautiful fresh tomatoes in a sauce instead of enjoying them raw? Well, honestly, I don't really like raw tomatoes and I'm sure I'll be getting a TON this summer. :-)

Also, this sauce is amazing.  I'm just sayin'.  Like most everything I make it is super easy.  It also manages to taste both super fresh (from the fresh tomatoes, peppers, and basil) and rich (from the tomato sauce and paste) at the same time.

This time I served it over some frozen homemade vegan gnocchi from VeganYumYum and froze some of the sauce for use in the future.  I did NOT use the optional ground beef in my sauce.  :-)

The recipe...quoted from mom :-D

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef (optional)
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 clove minced garlic

1 can tomato paste
3 8-oz. cans tomato sauce
1 quart fresh, diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon chopped oregano
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or other herbs
Salt & pepper to taste


Method
Saute beef (if using), onion, bell pepper, and garlic until beef is browned or onion is transparent.  Add remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 hours.

Of course, I never measure, so these amounts are very approximate.  Add more garlic, herbs, etc. to your own preference.  Good luck!

Edit: some gnocchi tips! 
First, yes, you can make gnocchi!  It's really not hard at all (especially if you only care about how it TASTES and not how it LOOKS.  :-D

1.) Don't use an electric mixer to mash the potatoes.  Most sites I've read suggested a ricer or potato masher.  I have neither, so I just used two forks to gently break up the spuds, much like making pastry dough.

2.) Use bread flour if you can.  It's OK with all purpose, but bread flour has extra gluten that really firms it up.  There are TONS of recipes for GF gnocchi out there, but I haven't tried them.

3.)  Salt the water you boil the gnocchi in, not the gnocchi!  This will flavor the pasta without messing up the texture.   You want the water fairly salty.  "Like the sea" ---according to Anne Burrell on the food network ;-). 

4.) Using a fork to make patterns on the gnocchi makes it prettier, and perhaps soak up more sauce..but I just roll it into a rope and cut it.  It takes way less time so I am much more likely to make the gnocchi myself.

5.)  I like to boil the gnocchi until they are slightly underdone (a couple of minutes), then strain well and saute in a medium hot skillet using some olive oil or butter.  This gives the gnocchi a really crisp delicious outer shell.  You can also flavor the gnocchi really well with salt, herbs and spices while you saute.

6.) Since making gnocchi is more of a "weekend" task, make a ton and freeze individual portions.  It freezes awesome and then you have a super easy weeknight meal ready to go.  That's what I did for this post.  (Freeze before you boil)

Simplest Tomato Sauce

This post is for all of my friends who think that they can't cook because it is a.) too hard or b.) too time consuming.  This tomato sauce recipe results in a sauce that could be served in a restaurant, but it takes no prep time and absolutely no skill!! :-)

I originally found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen, but it has been circulating the web for some time. 

First, get your ingredients: canned tomatoes (the best you can afford, as they make up the taste), a medium yellow onion and butter or vegan margarine--I've used both with great success.

Then, put them in a pot! Simmer for 45 minutes.  You can either pay attention and smash the tomatoes up as you go, or forget about the pot and smash them all up at the end.  Again, I've done it both ways. :-)

Finally, taste and salt, if needed--the butter and tomatoes are often salted, so be careful not to over-salt.   The sauce is then ready to serve.  I've served it with spaghetti and over steamed or roasted vegetables, however, my favorite use was over pan fried polenta.

print recipe

Simplest Tomato Sauce

by May-8-2011

The easiest tomato sauce recipe around.

Ingredients

• 1 28oz Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes (San Marzano)
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion
• 5Tbs Butter or Vegan Butter

Instructions

1. Peel the onion and cut it in half. 2. In a medium pot simmer tomatoes, butter, and halved onion over medium-low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally while gently smashing tomatoes. 3. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Smash to desired consistency and serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 1 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 46 mins Yield: 4