Fresh Tomato Sauce — Maha'sKitchenSecrets

I recall the time when growing up in Damascus where no processed foods of any sort were available on the selves, all women had to revert to mouneh. Mouneh was an important activity for the women of the household during the summer months. Mouneh is the preservation of foods for use in winter whether using the drying, pickling, jamming or canning method.

Stewed tinned tomatoes were no where to be found so we always had to make our own tomato sauce for any dish using fresh tomatoes. Now a days hundred of brands of stewed tomatoes are available but to me nothing beats the taste of a fresh tomato sauce when you have the time to prepare it.

Ingredients:

Yield: 500 grams

750 grams fresh ripe tomatoes
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Basil leaves, optional

Method:

* Wash the tomatoes and remove the cap.

* Bring a pot of water to the boil and drop the tomatoes in and once it comes back to boil turn the heat off and leave until cooled then remove the tomatoes.

* At this point you will notice the tomato skin has cracks and the skin has separated from the flesh. Peel and set aside.

* If the tomatoes contain many seeds simply quarter them and remove the seeds with your finger or a spoon.

* Place in a processor on high for a few minutes.

* When you reach a consistency, you are happy with then stop.

* In a pot fry the garlic in the olive oil until golden then add the tomato, season with salt and leave to cook on medium heat until it has reduced to a thick consistency. Adjust the salt.

* If you would like to add basil make sure it is added at the end when the sauce is ready.

Tips:

* Store in a glass container as the tomato acids can stain plastic containers.

* In the event the plastic container is stained try to scrub the container with baking soda.

* The sauce can keep for up to a week in the fridge.

* The sauce is perfect for freezing up to 3 months.

Per Serving: 391 Calories; 29g Fat (62.3% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 62mg Sodium.