Fresh House, Fresh Tomato Sauce

I am now blogging from my new kitchen in my new house! It is a wonderful kitchen with more gadgets and small appliances than any other student house, I am sure. We are now fully settled in, and I am enjoying my last few days of summer before school starts. Along with everything I own, I made sure to bring some veggies from my parent's garden when I moved in. I brought tomatoes, leeks, eggplant, chili peppers, and managed to dry some basil in time for the move.

I had 5 very ripe plum tomatoes on hand and knew I could not forgive myself if I didn't make some tomato sauce at the end of my personal tomato season (no longer right out my back door). I usually rush sauces when making them for myself and do not take the time to do it properly. I figured I would do it differently this time since I currently feel like I have all the time in the world. The sauce turned out pretty good and has been used in two different recipes which I will be posting in due time.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

5 Plum tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped finely
1 small leek, chopped
1 cm of chili pepper, chopped finely
oregano (sprinkle to taste)
basil (sprinkle to taste)
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp tomato paste
salt and pepper to taste

To remove skin and seeds from tomato:
Bring a pot of water to a boil, leaving enough room for tomatoes. Make very shallow slices all around the tomato to make a cross shape.

Add tomatoes to boiling water. Boil until skin starts to peel back, a minute or two. The riper the tomatoes are, the quicker this will happen. Remove from water and allow to cool. Peel off the skin and cut off the tough stem areas. Cut into quarters. Remove seeds and put into a fine strainer over a bowl. Cut remaining tomato flesh into bite sized pieces. Once all the tomatoes have been seeded, move the fleshy seeds around in the strainer to remove all the juices. Add these juices to the diced tomatoes.

To make the sauce:
In a medium pot, add olive oil, chili pepper, and garlic. Heat on medium-high for a few minutes until fragrant. Add leeks and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft.

Add tomatoes, tomato juice, and tomato paste. Heat until simmering for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and use a hand blender to blend the tomato pieces. This can be done as much or as little as you wish. I do not normally do this but wanted a traditional sauce this time. Put blended sauce back on heat and add oregano, basil, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer until sauce has reduced to desired consistency, about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

This sauce was very fresh and delicious. It really would not have been the same without the fresh overripe tomatoes. I will miss those guys. I used this sauce to make a baked pasta as well as a baked bean dish. Good comfort food let me tell you.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of the new place and some meals I've created in it.

blogging station #1

blogging station #2

Leeks, Zucchini and Tomato with Black Pearl Medley Rice

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper


Dilled Carrots and Beans with Cottage Cheese on Lavash