[powerband]

I made for the very first time a delicious meat loaf last week.... It seems to me that the recipe I used could also be used for meatballs too..... so I'm looking for a good Tomato Sauce recipe to use with meatballs? One that doesn't have ketchup, Ragu , or any of those ready made up jarred tomato sauces in it?
Anybody got a tasty recipe to share...?

Fank you!

[axeman]

Fry up some onions and garlic in olive oil, add tinned chopped tomatoes, dried oregano and simmer away for 2 hours. its all about it getting thick and rich. you can also add chillie, red wine or balsamic vinegar. celery and carrot also go good, just add them with the onion at the start

[~nobody~]

Sofrito's a lovely sauce for meatballs and the like (its what you often get with Spanish albondigas). It's basically as above but with peppers in it too.
Here's a sample recipe but you can if course modify as needed.

Quote

Tomato Sauce Recipe - Sofrito
Sofrito is a basic tomato sauce that is made all
over Spain. Tomatoes, onions, garlic green
peppers and olive oil are sautéed in a frying pan,
so that the acid in the tomatoes mellows and
mixes with the flavors of the onion, pepper and
garlic. It can be eaten with rice or eggs, but
often it is used as an ingredient in other dishes,
such as the filling for empanadas .
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Finely chop the onion and garlic. Chop the
pepper into 1/4" (or smaller) pieces. Heat a
large frying pan with a heavy bottom over
medium heat. Pour in enough olive oil to coat
the bottom of the pan. Put the onions into the
pan and sauté them until they are transparent,
reducing the heat if necessary so as not to burn
them. Add the green pepper and continue to
cook for 5 minutes, adding olive oil if necessary.
Be sure to stir often, to vegetables do not burn.
Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute
more. Pour the crushed tomatoes and paprika
into the pan and mix well. Continue to cook for
about 10-15 minutes.

[powerband]

How selfish and stoopid am I? I should at least share my meat loaf recipe with you all

1lb lean beef mince
8oz pork sausagemeat
2 medium sized onions
1 small green pepper
1 dessertspoon tomato puree
1 crushed garlic clove
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 slices white bread (thick)
3 tablespoons milk
1 beaten egg
salt n pepper

2lb loaf tin

preheat oven to gas mark 5...375F... 190C

Mix beef, pork, onion(chopped) pepper, puree, and garlic, season well and give it a good thorough mixing.
Cut crusts off bread and soak in milk, then squeeze the excess milk out of it and add to rest of ingredients, along with herbs and parsley.
Another thorough mixing and then add egg to bind.
Press the mixture into the loaf tin, spreading evenly, then bake for 1 1/4 hrs (75mins).
It will shrink from the tin sides, allow to cool , pop outta tin and Ta Daaa! Mama Mia its beewtiful!!!!

[Lake Palmer]

Good recipe from Axeman. I keep them simple but on the same lines. Gently fry some crushed garlic on a low heat with a good few lugs of decent olive oil, I add whatever fresh herbs I have, if not just dried basil or oregano, sea salt (A pinch or two) and then add a tin of decent chopped tomatoes, bring up to a higher heat and cook off for a while, maybe add a squeezes of tomato purée too. Season with black pepper and sea salt again.

[axeman]

i find the secret with meatballs is to cook the tomato sauce first, then brown off the meatballs and add the sauce to the pan. The balls will release there juices and the sauce will become infused through with there flavor. right, thats it, Im off to cook meatballs!

[Ishmael]

i think tomato puree is essential in a tomato sauce, it thickens the sauce and holds it together as well as adding flavour. Otherwise the sauce separates a bit and you get watery stuff under your pasta. Fresh basil, garlic and olive oil are all you need (er apart from tomatoes).

[Boojum]

If you have access to good tomatoes (supermarket tomatoes need not apply, but if you grow your own or have a decent greengrocer near you ) then IMHO the best tomato sauce base is a simple roasted tomato sauce - cut the ripe tomatoes in half, place skin side down in an ovenproof dish, add some garlic to taste (whole cloves, chopped, sliced - it's up to you, if I can be bothered I put a slice of garlic on each tomato half), some fresh basil, sea salt & freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle with good olive oil and stick in the oven at 180 degrees C. Dunno about timing, I just check on them every once in a while after half an hour, they're ready when they are all soft and the skin is browning. Then if you want to be fussy press/rub the lot through a sieve to separate out the skins & pips, or if you wanna be lazy just whizz the lot up in a food processor. You can then use that as the base for any dish that uses a tomato sauce, either as is or with other herbs etc added. You can do loads in batches and freeze it too



E2A Batches ? We don't need no steenking batches.

Sorry, just had to, I'm in one of those daft moods today

This post has been edited by Boojum: 18 March 2012 - 02:18 PM