Homemade Tomato Sauce 自製蕃茄醬

I usually just use diluted tomato paste or store-bought pizza sauce for my pizza due to laziness (check out my Thin Crust Pizza recipe here). This time I decided to make my own from scratch as I have a surplus of heirloom tomatoes that I grew in my garden. This tomato sauce is great for pizza, pasta and meatballs. I used carbon tomatoes and it took almost one hour to cook down the liquids as they were pretty juicy. My plum tomatoes are not fully ripe yet and I will make some more later to see if there is any difference in flavor (updated September 2: Yes I tried using these tomatoes and I do think that the taste is richer than the bigger ones). For pizza making I would recommend adding some tomato paste to the tomato sauce as a thickener so the pizza crust won’t be too soggy. If fresh herbs is used then add only when the cooking is almost done. Dried herbs, on the other hand, should be added along with the garlic to help leach out the flavor.
EC做薄餅(食譜可按這裡)時通常只是貪方便使用茄膏加水和香草碎調味或是買市售的薄餅醬，最近自家種植的復古(Heirloom)蕃茄陸續有收成便煮了些新鮮的蕃茄醬。這個蕃茄醬可作薄餅抹醬，亦可用來煮意粉或肉丸等。這次用了碳番茄，因為這些大番茄比較多汁，所以EC煮了差不多一小時才煮至收汁。其他的橢圓形李子蕃茄尚未完全成熟，下次有多時會再煮比較一下兩者的味道(9月2號更新：昨天用這些蕃茄煮番茄醬，味道比上次的大蕃茄味道更濃)。若把蕃茄醬用於薄餅上的話，EC建議烹煮時加少許茄膏增強稠度以免餅底不夠香脆。若是用新鮮香草的話請在差不多煮好時才加入，相反用乾的香草碎時則要與蒜蓉同炒協助釋放香味。

Homemade Tomato Sauce
自製蕃茄醬

Ingredients

1.5 – 2 pounds tomatoes, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp tomato paste (optional)
Salt, sugar, and black pepper to taste

材料

蕃茄(切丁) 1.5至2磅
橄欖油 1湯匙
蒜頭(切碎) 3粒
牛至香草碎 1茶匙
茄膏(可省略) 2湯匙
糖、鹽、黑胡椒各適量

Directions 做法

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and dried oregano and saute for about 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes. Add tomato paste (optional), salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, with occasional stirring until thickened, about one hour.
*if using fresh herbs, add at the end of the cooking process
鍋子加油中火加熱後放入蒜粒和香草碎炒香一分鐘左右，加入番茄丁翻炒一會兒後加入茄膏(可省略)，少許鹽和糖，煮滾後開蓋慢火熬煮一小時左右直到濃稠，間中要攪拌以免黏底。
*若使用新鮮香草請於熬煮末段時間才加入

When slightly cool, pulse with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth. Season with additional salt and black pepper if desired.
稍放涼後用手持式攪拌棒或放入食物處理機攪打至細滑，自行依喜好加入鹽和糖調味。

Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use as required within a week. Divide into smaller portions and store in the freezer for longer storage up to three months.
待蕃茄醬完全放涼後放在密封盒於雪櫃保存並於一星期內使用，或分成小份放入冰箱冷凍保存，保存期約三個月。