It never fails. It seems like everyone I know with a garden starts the season with a tomato or two… and then suddenly? It’s an abundance. At the end of the growing season, my friends can’t give away their tomatoes fast enough! That’s why I’ve started looking for great ways to use that overwhelming amount of tomatoes from your garden to feed your family! If you saw, earlier in the week, I shared a great recipe for Spicy Tomato Ketchup. The ketchup recipe is one of my favorites, but since it just uses the juice of some boiled down tomatoes, you’re left with some pulp… and this is how to use it– in a chunky pasta sauce your family will LOVE!
This recipe starts with about 2-3 cups of a tomato puree or pulp, which you’ll get if you make the ketchup mentioned in the last post. I just saved the pulp in the fridge until I was ready to make sauce the next day! To that, you’ll want to add 2 Tablespoons of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of ground mustard, 1/4 teaspoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon each of garlic salt and onion salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, a teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon each of basil and oregano, and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.
You’ll also add about half a cup of water to thin out the puree, because it’s typically incredibly thick. You may need to add a little more water or a little less water, depending on how thick your tomato mixture is. Either way, you don’t want to add too much, or it’ll thin out your sauce too much without adding enough flavor. You could choose to use a vegetable broth instead, for a heartier flavor, but you may notice it shifts your sauce away from a true tomato flavor. The great thing about a sauce is that it’s very forgiving, so use your own taste to create the right sauce for your family.
At this point, I like to stir in some mushrooms. This is the time to add in any additional vegetables you’d like. If you’re using the tomato puree you acquired from the ketchup recipe, you’ll already have some onions in the mix, but bell peppers make a great addition, as does a few tablespoons of pumpkin puree. This is a great opportunity to sneak in vegetables your family won’t otherwise eat, because who doesn’t love spaghetti?
Let this mixture simmer to allow time for the flavors to mesh, about 30 minutes at a minimum. The longer you let this sauce simmer, the better it’s going to taste, you may need to add more water in order to thin it out.
This tomato sauce is perfectly thick and hearty for pasta, and the whole family will love the great flavor. The lucky thing is that it’s a really easy way to use up a lot of tomatoes from the garden (or if a friend offloads a bunch on you!)
- 2-3 Cups Tomato Puree
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Can mushrooms (or several mushrooms not canned, or bell peppers, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 Cup water, depending on desired thickness
- Place tomato paste in large saucepan, then add in spices.
- Allow to cook on medium as you add olive oil, water, and honey.
- Bring sauce to a simmer, and add vegetables (onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, to taste).
- Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or longer, adding additional water as needed for thickness, stirring every few minutes.
- Serve over cooked pasta.
- The longer you let this cook, the more the flavors will mesh. Add additional water as needed or desired. Customize spices and vegetables according to your family's preferences.
Looking for more great tomato recipes? You’ll love this way to sneak produce into meals like pasta sauce, and you’ll also like this great Freddy’s Fry Sauce duplicate, which uses ketchup (and is a perfect condiment pairing to the ketchup recipe that created the paste for this recipe!)
How do you use up tomatoes from your garden? Let me know in the comments below!
