I’ve been having a lot of experimental soup recipes lately. Hearty, hot, and wholly un-publishable, they’re messy and tasty and completely dependent on what we have in the refrigerator. I kind of feel like everything I’ve been making lately is pretty experimental, actually. Tasty, of course (especially when I’m hungry and its venturing into past-dinner-time), but not the kind of thing I really think is ready to share with anybody on here. For instance, I tried egg drop soup today… and I think it will definitely make its way on here soon, but not the one I made today.
But one experiment that I really do want to share with you is this fabulous tomato sauce I made last week. I didn’t expect this tomato sauce to be something special, in fact I didn’t even take many pictures, but lordy be was I happily surprised. It was completely experimental and completely dependent upon the random stuff we had in the fridge and the pantry, but it turned out to be so flavorful that I must post it here for posterity. It didn’t make a huge batch because I only had a few tomatoes, so unfortunately I don’t have any of it left. In fact, I used it all up in two days. First, it was mixed in with some rice and then the next night it was the star of a polenta lasagna (another that will have to be re-worked and shared later). Basically, I gobbled it all up as quickly as I could.
So I’m going to share this recipe with its approximate measurements because I didn’t take special care to be exact. But have no fear, a little extra oregano or a little less salt is something that is a) easily fixable, b) highly adaptable, and c) all up to your special preferences. This is not a recipe that relies on a specific exacting ratio of tomato to onion (in fact, I didn’t even have fresh onion! I used dried minced onion and it worked just dandy). This is simply a recipe that has flavorful ingredients that work together to make a divine tomato sauce. No difficulty, just deliciousness.
| Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce |
- 3 cups diced tomato
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 3 tbsp minced onion
- Dice your tomatoes and put in a saucepan on medium-high. Stir as you’re assembling the other ingredients.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. As the tomatoes release their juices and the mixture begins to boil, taste it and see if you like the herb/spice balance. Adjust to your liking.
- Continue to let the mixture boil down and reduce, approximately 30 minutes or until you have a thick, chunky tomato sauce.
I used heirloom tomatoes because that’s what I had in the fridge- they were absolutely divine, but so would be most any tomatoes I’m sure!
I don’t have a food mill, so I made this an easy, chunky recipe and left all the skins and seeds in the tomatoes when I diced them. If you wanted to make a smoother recipe, I’d suggest using a food mill or even utilizing the food processor. Personally, I was extremely pleased with the more chunky sauce.
I added a few notes to the bottom of the recipe about kinds of tomatoes and the methods for preparing the tomatoes. Basically, what I’m trying to say is I used what I had on hand. I had heirlooms, so I used them. I don’t have a food mill, so I didn’t use the food mill I do not have. It’s back to my ever-lazy, but resourceful, philosophy: make do in the kitchen! (wow… now that I’ve read that over, I’m going to admit that that’s not the note I wanted to end on… I’ll choose better words next time haha)
The Drunk Squash