La Fortezza Tomato Sauce
I know you have all been watching me deal with our incredible tomato harvest in our La Fortezza garden this year. Let's just say we will have tomato sauce for every pizza party until October. Today I am sharing one of the recipes from my upcoming new cookbook, based on the region I live in La Lunigiana, located in the northwest corner of Tuscany. My cookbook, La Fortezza Cookbook, will feature the local cuisine, as well as the house specialties we serve during our workshops and retreats on the property. It will be released in fall 2022, by Rizzoli NY, and I cannot wait to share it with all of you. This is a recipe you can jar or simply bag up and put in the freezer to enjoy a little taste of summer in the winter months. Let me know how it goes. xx
Our tomato plants are very prolific; we make about 3 batches of this simple tomato sauce recipe every season. We jar it and enjoy it through the fall, winter, and spring. It is a very simple recipe that highlights the sweetness of the tomatoes. It is used in so many dishes, you will be amazed at how easy and versatile it is. The only piece of equipment needed is a food mill, which is something that is a fixture in Italian kitchens mainly used for “the sauce”.
La Fortezza Tomato Sauce
Makes about 4 quarts 8-16 oz jars
*equipment food mill
You will need:
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped yellow onion
- 4 pounds tomatoes, chopped
- 3 clove garlic, lightly crushed
- 1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon dried oregano
To prepare:
Place the onion and olive oil in a large saucepan and set it over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often until the oil starts to sizzle. Cook for 5 minutes, to soften the onion. Add the tomato and the minced garlic to the onions, add the salt and oregano. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the sauce to a simmer, then lower the heat to low. Allow to simmer gently, stirring from time to time, for 40 to 50 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Run it through the food mill and store in the freezer or jar according to the directions below.
For jarring your sauce these are the directions:
Step 1: Glass jars can also be put through a hot cycle in your dishwasher.
Step 2: Sterilize metal seals in boiling water for 5 minutes and then leave in water.
Step 3: Once you fill the jars, top with lids, put the filled jars into the boiling water for 10 minutes, remove with rubber tipped tongs place on the counter to cool. The lids are sealed when the middle of the lid has an indentation. Note if all the jars do not have a proper intentdation, store in the refrigerator.
- Note if you don’t want to jar your sauce it is good in the freezer for 6 months.