Tomato sauce - general principles and methods of cooking
Tomato - the most important ingredient for the preparation of many dishes. You can hardly find in the world the national cuisine, in which it is not used. As comrade Saakhov used to say, it may be somewhere in the mountains, but not in our areas. More than 400 years ago, the tomato migrated to us from South America, but did not immediately settle on the menu. Initially, they even tried to poison people. The ancient Indians called tomatoes "matla", probably from this happened consonant with the word "tomatoes".
And tomato is pomo d'oro, the golden apple in Italian. At the base of many additives to dishes that give them juiciness and a special taste, there is a tomato (or products based on it - for example, a tomato). Sauces (gravy) are no exception. Tomato sauce, as a rule, contains a large set of spices and additives. The main (basic) sauces are prepared according to the generally accepted recipe, additional sauces are composed of ingredients that change the overall taste.
Tomato Sauce - Food Preparation
Fresh tomato tomato sauce is made exclusively from ripe, juicy tomatoes of rich red color. Brown, greenish, streaked, and also those that are grown not under real sunlight, but under bright greenhouse lamps will not work. Many recipes involve the preparation of tomato juice with pulp. Tomatoes are wiped through a sieve, the skin and seeds are separated. This is a rather complicated process. If the tomatoes are scalded with boiling water, the process will go much faster - the skin is removed easily, and the seeds can be removed with a spoon if the fruit is cut in half.
Tomato sauce - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Basic Tomato Sauce Recipe
Of course, the best tomato sauce is obtained in season, when ripe tomatoes are filled with the natural energy of the sun. But in winter, you can successfully use a tomato or a concentrated tomato juice, which should be boiled down. The result will be great anyway.
Ingredients: olive oil (1 tbsp. Spoon), garlic (1 clove), greens or dried herbs, onion, tomato pulp, grated through a sieve (500 grams), you can also take tomatoes in their own juice (650 grams) or ripe tomatoes (800 grams).
Method of preparation Cut tomatoes into small pieces in our own juice or grated tomatoes - this will be the basis of the sauce. In a frying pan or a small saucepan in olive oil, fry the finely chopped garlic, always on a small fire. Then add the finely chopped onion and pass until soft and transparent. Add tomato base and herbs. For example, rosemary and bay leaf are selected for meat, oregano, basil are perfect for pizza, do not release thyme, sage, marjoram from the attention. The minimum fire is about an hour - the sauce thickens it and the sauce gets a unique taste. Add salt and pepper.
Recipe 2: Broth Tomato Sauce
This sauce can also be the basis for more intense dishes, such as wine or bell pepper. But in itself it is quite tasty and perfectly suited to meat dishes and side dishes.
Ingredients: strained meat broth (250 grams), butter (25 g), flour (13 grams, 1 spoon), carrots (20 grams), onions (20 grams), parsley, tomato (250 grams ), sugar (5 grams), a pinch of citric acid, black pepper and bay leaf.
Method of preparation
Prepare a hot white saute in butter, dissolve it in strained broth. Tomato-mashed potatoes with roots and onions passeur separately. Mix both sides and add sugar, citric acid, laurel, salt, black pepper peas. Cook all 30 minutes. It is advisable to strain the sauce, heat to boil again and fill with oil.
Sample dishes with tomato sauce
Recipe 1: Italian-style pasta in tomato sauce
From these products, 5-6 servings of flavored paste are obtained, the taste of which is largely determined by the tomato sauce, or rather, those additives that give it intensity, piquancy and spiciness. Spaghetti of any manufacturer will do, but Italian is considered the best, of course, their cost is sometimes much higher. But the taste is different. By the way, domestic pasta products today are produced in a huge assortment and of sufficiently high quality, so that you can always find something cheaper, with quality not worse.
Ingredients: spaghetti (1 pack, 450-500 grams), olive oil, salt, garlic (6-7 cloves), sugar (half a spoon), tomatoes (4-5 pieces), sweet pepper (half large or 1 small).
Method of preparation
Boil spaghetti in three liters of water. Salt is put to taste, but half a tablespoon of salt is enough. Pour a tablespoon of vegetable oil into the water. Boil for 10-13 minutes at the end of cooking, you can try spaghetti. Sauce. Wash the tomatoes, remove the stem and cut into quarters. Put in a blender with pepper and garlic. More garlic - more spicy dishes. Grind the sauce and pour into the saucepan. Salt, add half a teaspoon of sugar. Boil. In a thick-walled frying pan, heat the olive oil and a few chopped garlic cloves. Put the cooked spaghetti in a saucepan or frying pan and heat with butter and garlic for several minutes. In portions, pour tomato sauce.
Recipe 2: Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Meatballs without sauce will be dry. To them, and asks for sauce, tomato - just perfect. For meatballs, take beef or pork-beef mixture, for gravy use tomatoes in their own juice.
Ingredients: ground beef (700 grams), celery stalks, carrots, onions, eggs, tomatoes in their own juice (canned, 400 grams), breadcrumbs (50 grams), dry white wine (60 ml.) , lemon juice (1 tbsp. spoon), basil (1/4 tsp.), salt, pepper.
Method of preparation
First prepare the meatballs - mix egg with minced meat, breadcrumbs and 60 grams of water. Well knead and roll meatballs. Fry in vegetable oil from all sides. Put on a dish, in vegetable oil, fry carrots in butter, cut into thin slices (can be semicircles), pour in wine, lemon juice and tomatoes mashed with a fork with juice. Bring to a boil, add onions, celery, meatballs, simmer another 20 minutes.
Tomato Sauce - useful tips from experienced chefs
Ingredients can significantly change the smell and taste of the base sauce, make it more saturated and appetizing. Try adding, for example, mushrooms - regular champignons, white, russula will do. Mix the sauce according to the main recipe with mushrooms, fried and chopped in a blender, pour in 50 ml of white dry wine, boil, and your sauce is simply unrecognizable! It perfectly emphasizes the taste of fillet, meat cutlets, meatballs, entrecote, boiled meat, veal and poultry dishes.
