Freezer Marinara

By the time the last of my pint of oven-dried tomatoes went into the frittata, I had another kilogram of Romas ready to be used.  And I'm using metric because this recipe is based on Food in Jars' marinara sauce for canning, which in turn is adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving.  The closest I could adhere to Marisa's recipe was to quarter it by metric.

Her recipe is also a little bland because it is specifically for canning.  The idea is that you doctor it up once the jar is opened before using.  This has to do with low-acid ingredients and boiling water canning.  The jars of pasta sauce you get in the market are usually pressure-canned.

That's why I'm calling this "freezer" sauce.  You can certainly use it immediately.  If you do have a bounty of tomatoes in your garden and don't want to go the canning route, this sauce can go in any freezer-safe container (including a plastic baggie or frozen in ice cube trays) and go straight into a saucepan for defrosting when needed.

There are two ways to attack the tomato skin issue.  You can do the blanch-and-peel method, or Marisa's idea of cooking everything and running it through a food mill on medium or a regular-mesh sieve.  There are the same number of dishes each way, and probably the same amount of time.  Because I have never tried it before, I'm doing the food mill version today.

*1 kg (2.2 lbs) Roma tomatoes
2 tsp olive oil
*1/4 C chopped onion
*1 rib celery, chopped
*2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
*1/4 tsp dried basil
*1/4 tsp dried oregano
*1/4 tsp dried parsley
*1 Tb lemon juice

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2.  While onions are cooking, core and chop the tomatoes.  Add chopped pieces and any juices to the pot.  Sprinkle in salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have broken down.

3.  Pass the mixture through a sieve or food mill to strain out the skins, seeds, and anything stringy.  Discard solids and return sauce to the stove.  Add basil, oregano, and parsley.  Simmer uncovered until reduced by one-third to one-half, about 40 minutes.  I wanted a thicker sauce and kept going until it was a 2 cup yield.

4.  Stir in lemon juice a couple of minutes before the end, to brighten the flavors.  If storing for later, first allow to cool until no longer steaming.  Then refrigerate until cool, about 4 hours.  Transfer to freezer container, if necessary, and mark a 3-month expiration.

5.  To use, either defrost at refrigeration for 24 hours or dump straight into a saucepan.  If you use a microwaveable container, you can defrost in that.

Makes about 1 pint

Difficulty rating  :)