Okay, so I thought I’d give this recipe a shot, though I’m now wishing either of my grandmothers were still alive so I could pick their brains about it (put down the crossbow Juliette! I’m NOT a zombie!). It’s the first time I’ve made it (because I got it from someone who used to be a friend) and it was a success, so I’ll share it with you.

Tomato Sauce Stock

Ingredients:

Tomatoes (lots of them, like a few pounds or more)

Water

Pretty fucking simple, huh?

Fill a stock pot (I have a pretty damn big one I use mostly for crab legs) at least ¼ to ½ full, cut up tomatoes—I sliced in half, then in thirds, and then cut chunks off into the pot.

*Thanks to Umi for being my hand model

Cover but vent the pot and bring to a boil. This is going to boil and then simmer for a good amount of time, and the tomatoes will cook down, so you can more water as they do. I let it simmer for a few hours and mash the chunks as it cooks before letting it cool off and sectioning the sauce stock off into separate containers. Since I no longer have my handy little handheld purée mixer, I think I’ll throw it into a blender before packaging next time. I’ll let you know how it works until I can get a new mixer.

I don’t add any seasoning to this other than a couple of dashes of salt (out of habit) to the water beforehand, and you can strain the peel and seeds out if you’d like, but I don’t. It makes for a nice chunky sauce too, which is great with chicken and pasta.

When I package it, I use at least 2-cup servings because 1 cup just doesn’t work. I’ll probably work with a larger amount of tomatoes and bigger servings next time because I’m trying to shy away from canned tomatoes, which are very bad for you, and I’d found myself still adding paste or diced tomatoes or sauce to it.

Essentially, this is the base for all your red sauces. I’ve now used it for the Red Clam Sauce and a Marinara, as well as a Chicken Parmesan recipe.

Be sure to write the date and time on the Ziploc bags or containers, though they can last in the freezer for a decent amount of time, but certainly not forever. Nothing lasts in the freezer forever without getting freezer burn. Blech.

Vive bene, spesso l’amore, di risata molto!