Save Your Summer Tomatoes: A Primer on the Simple Sunday Sauce

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato”
– Lewis Grizzard (Author and Humorist)

***Prime tomatoes in the middle of July, bagged up and thrown in the freezer, a fresh sauce made 6 months later in the middle of a blizzard***

If anything, this past weekend’s storm is a sobering reminder of what winter can bring. Namely, days that are cold, dreary, and dark that seemingly never end and last for months. In order to battle this time of year with warmer memories of summer, nothing is better than being able to make a fresh sauce during a 3 foot blizzard with real tomatoes that still have that summer zing.

I challenge all of the gardeners and farmers this upcoming spring and summer to remember to occasionally put some fresh right-off-the-vine tomatoes in freezer bags and save them for a winter storm or when the temperature drops to the teens (like this past weekend). I have found that flash freezing the tomatoes as soon as you pluck them allows for the retention of their epic fresh juices. This flavor gives you the taste of summer and a glimmer of hope of what is to come when you are in the heart of winter.

After shoveling 3 feet of snow or after a cold hike through Webster’s Audubon, this sauce recipe is the perfect comfort food accompaniment to pasta, lasagna, a roast, etc. – make your sauce, sip some wine, and relax by the wood stove!

This is my go-to sauce recipe – it is a bit labor intensive, but the end result crushes any canned sauce you get from the supermarket:

Simple Sunday Sauce (makes approximately 7 cups)

4 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (High Quality)
2 Finely Chopped Onions
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced (feel free to add more!)
3 lbs of frozen fresh summer tomatoes (beefsteak, if possible – peeling cherry tomatoes gets cumbersome)
Kosher Salt, to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste
Sugar, as needed (to cut acidity)
1 Bunch of Fresh Basil (minced)

Steps:

Get a pot and fill with water until boiling. Once boiling, take the frozen tomatoes and put them in. Lower the heat to medium, so the boiling stops and there is a slow simmer. Let the tomatoes thaw in the warm water until you notice that their skin is starting to peel. At that point, drain the tomatoes into a colander and peel the skins. Put the tomatoes back in the pot and mash using a potato masher. Set aside and let cool.
Get a lodge cast iron skillet hot on medium heat – when the oil is hot and you can see a bit of smoke, add the finely chopped onions. After five minutes, add the minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and let cool.
Once the tomato paste and garlic and onions are cool, put them into a blender or food processor. Process the ingredients until they incorporate; a nice orangey-red color (see picture above).
Pour back into the pot and set to a simmer. Add minced parsley and some sugar if the sauce is to acidic. If you want to make it creamier, add some butter or fresh cream and process again. If it is too think, add some tomato water.