Homemade Pasta Sauce

Tonight Chris and I made a big batch of homemade pasta sauce with garlic and basil. I had a bucket of beautiful red tomatoes (which I unfortunately didn't get a picture of) from the garden. Too many to eat.

Here is the recipe we used:
Fresh Tomato Sauce with Garlic and Basil

Any type of tomato may be used in this recipe—just make sure to choose the ripest, most flavorful ones available (of course - they are - they came from my garden!). Short tubular or curly pasta shapes such as penne or fusilli are well-suited to this chunky sauce. Alternately, before adding the basil, the sauce may be pureed in a blender or food processor so it will coat strands of spaghetti or linguine. The recipe may be doubled in a 12-inch skillet (we made this recipe x 7!!! we had 14 lbs of tomatoes!). The sauce freezes well, but add the basil when reheating (no basil for us - we're freezing most of it!)

Serves 4 (x 7 = 28!!)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (x 7 = 1 cup + a little more)
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed with garlic press (x 7 + 14!!)
2 pounds tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (14lbs!)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (added later)
Table salt

Our tomatoes (cored, peeled, seeding and cut - with a bowl of tomato juice as well)


1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil and garlic in medium skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid given off by tomatoes evaporates and tomato pieces lose their shape to form a chunky sauce, about 10 minutes. Stir in basil and salt to taste; cover to keep warm.

Yummy, fragrant tomato sauce simmering on the stove