I’ve discovered a strange quirk with my veggie boxes lately in that if I haven’t used up one particular vegetable it always shows up in large quantities in the next box as well, leaving me with a huge pile of something that needs to be used up quickly. It happens occasionally with tomatoes, but luckily they are easy to cook up in a big batch to make tomato sauce, which can be frozen to be used later. That’s what I did with this batch, and the best part is the sauce is really versatile. I like to keep it chunky for simple pastas and blend it up nice and smooth for pizza bases. I like mine with a good kick to it so use a whole chilli, seeds and all, but you can reduce the spice to your own taste.
Ingredients List
- Onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 5-6 tomatoes
- 5-6 sun dried tomato (in oil)
- Bunch fresh basil
- 1 fresh chilli (or to taste, dried flakes would work too)
Steps
- Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic
- Dice the tomatoes
- Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until the onions go translucent
- Add the tomatoes and stir to combine
- In a food processor combine the sun dried tomatoes, basil and chilli and pulse until they are finely chopped and form a paste
- Add the basil mixture to the tomatoes and stir through
- Leave to simmer for up to half an hour, stirring occasionally until it thickens up
- Enjoy!
If you’re in a hurry you can cook the mixture for as little as 15 minutes, but the longer you leave it the more the flavours will develop. It still tastes good in the shorter time though!
Do you have a good way to use up excess tomatoes? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!
Elizabeth
October 17, 2013 at 9:45 am (11 years ago)That’s a nice idea adding the sundried tomatoes to add some tomatoey depth to early season tomatoes
Elizabeth recently posted…Snowpea and almond salad with mint and blood orange
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
October 18, 2013 at 9:08 pm (11 years ago)Yeah, they just add a bit more richness to the flavour which I really like!
leaf (the indolent cook)
October 18, 2013 at 12:27 pm (11 years ago)I think you’ve got the right idea there… pasta sauce is a great way to use up an abundance of tomatoes. That sauce looks delicious with pasta!
leaf (the indolent cook) recently posted…oven-baked celeriac chips
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
October 18, 2013 at 9:08 pm (11 years ago)It’s such a handy thing to make a big batch of and then freeze in small portions so you’ve always got a quick dinner when need be!