Blender Herb Garden Tomato Sauce

Fresh tomatoes and herbs from the garden

A simple recipe for tomato pasta sauce with herbs from the garden. This is a freezer recipe for a basic but flavourful sauce recipe that avoids the step of peeling the tomatoes. We divide this sauce into family meal sized portions and freeze for use later.

It’s Tomato Week! Yesterday I posted about harvesting all those garden tomatoes. Today here is the first of a few short recipe posts about preserving tomatoes.

There is a printable recipe card at the end from RecipesGenerator.

Messy tomato plant in October — Messy tomato plant in pot in October

Blender sauce is “no-peel” sauce

Usually when you bring in tomatoes and make a canned pasta sauce – you boil the tomatoes quickly, then cool to allow the tomatoes to be more easily peeled. That would be for a traditional canned sauce recipe. This sauce requires no peeling!

I follow a simpler process. I wash the tomatoes, chop them – removing the green and brown bits – the stem and harder parts of the core. I remove some (but not all) of the seeds. Then I puree the tomatoes – skin and all. I then place the tomatoes in a pot and heat with the herbs, etc. The tomato skin (to me) adds to the sauce, provides a higher yield (less throwing away) and – because I grew the tomatoes myself, I know they are pesticide free.

Sliced tomatoes — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

This is Freezer Tomato Sauce

If this were a canned tomato preserve, I would recommend following the recipe exactly to get the correct balance of PH to ensure that the sauce on the shelf won’t spoil. This is NOT a canned recipe (it’s a freezer recipe) – so if you don’t have exactly the quantity of an ingredient – or you want to change it up a bit – go for it!

We freeze it in smaller portions – to use on it’s own in the winter time as a “fresh” pasta sauce – or add it to another kitchen concoction when tomato sauce is called for!

Fresh tomato and herb blender sauce recipe

20 or so fresh tomatoes – medium sized on average

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion finely diced

3 large cloves garlic – minced

optionally – 1 stalk celery and or 1/2 sweet pepper

2 tsp sugar

1.5 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

a sprig each of fresh parsley, fresh oregano, fresh thyme and fresh basil – finely chopped – you may substitute dried herbs using 1 tsp each

Messy herb rockery — Herb garden with parsley at the right side

In large pot heat 3 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add and saute chopped onion, garlic, until just soft. (optionally add celery and or chopped sweet peppers).

Wash and chop tomatoes – removing stems, and green or brown bits – and seeds to the best of your ability. Puree tomatoes in blender.

Add tomato puree, seasonings and spices. Bring to low boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, until the sauce is no longer watery and is reduced somewhat. Taste sauce and add additional seasoning to taste. Cool sauce.