| Shrubman |
Hey all,
Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
Thanks!
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| kiltyone@dslextreme.com |
Shrubman wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
>
> Thanks!
In my experience sauce made with whole or cut tomatoes never dry out
even when made into a paste.
The only thing I have ever done was to add cheese to the sauce to
thicken it or set it on a back burner at just warm and let it stay there
4 or more hours.
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| Kent H. |
The following formula works.
1. put the tomatoes in the oven in a roasting pan and roast for 1.5H or
so to breakdown the skin.
2. put that through a food mill, and the skin will be separated from the
tomato pulp.
3. doing this will leave some liquid in the bottom of the roaster pan,
that you can discard, and the pulp will be slightly thicker. However the
tomato "broth" in the bottom of the pan is very tasty and can be added
to the pulp. I always add it and then reduce as below.
4. put your pulp into a large straight sided pan, and over a very, very
low temp., reduce it to the thickness you prefer. This takes several
hours.
5. Season, and you will have pasta sauce or pizza sauce or whatever you
want. I freeze the tomato sauce as is and season it when used with the
recipe of the day. Look at Marcella Hazan's ragu recipe, or Adi Boni's.
I do this when Romas are in season, freeze my sauce, and it gets me
through the rest of the year. I usually use 1-2 lugs of tomatoes,
depending on my ambition at the moment.
Good Luck
Kent
Shrubman wrote:
>
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
>
> Thanks!
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| Jack Schidt® |
"Shrubman" <shrubman@charter.net> wrote in message
news:890b5b0a.0409061536.31a25779@posting.google.com...
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
>
> Thanks!
Adding paste isn't cheating; it's what's done if you want to thicken up
tomato sauce other than cooking it down to...paste.
Jack Ronzoni
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| CJB |
previously in rfc, shrubman@charter.net (Shrubman) wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
I used canned crushed tomatoes. Haven't used tomato paste in years, but my
sauce gets pretty thick. I think the trick is letting it cook long enough
with the top somewhat askew so that the water has someplace to go.
I also, if I'm cooking meat in the gravy, skim the oil from the top before
serving - sometimes that ends up being a considerable amount.
The longer you let it cook, the thicker it will get. No need to use a food
mill or paste.
Hope this helps. :)
-Claudia
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| tep1997 |
here's and awesome recipe for sauce that does "sit on top of the pasta
instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl":
http://food.cookinglight.com/cookin...ecipe_id=686171
"Jack Schidt®" <jack-schidt@snot.net> wrote in message
news:9r7%c.731$w17.390@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
>
> "Shrubman" <shrubman@charter.net> wrote in message
> news:890b5b0a.0409061536.31a25779@posting.google.com...
> > Hey all,
> >
> > Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> > have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> > broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> > extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> > mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
> >
> > What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> > pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> > paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
> >
> > Thanks!
>
> Adding paste isn't cheating; it's what's done if you want to thicken up
> tomato sauce other than cooking it down to...paste.
>
> Jack Ronzoni
>
>
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| Alex Rast |
at Mon, 06 Sep 2004 23:36:32 GMT in <890b5b0a.0409061536.31a25779
@posting.google.com>, shrubman@charter.net (Shrubman) wrote :
>Hey all,
>
>Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
>have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
>broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
>extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
>mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
>What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
>pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl?
It's fairly easy, at least with fresh tomatoes. What I do is blanch, peel,
halve, core, and seed the fresh tomatoes. Then I use a potato masher to
mash up what remains, add the aromatics, and simmer for a while - multiple
hours. Near the end of the simmering time, leave the lid of the pot ajar,
or indeed take it off completely. This lets the water evaporate away. After
about 1/2 hour, perhaps more depending on your tomato volume and water
content, it should be virtually free of any runny liquid. At this point,
it's ready to use. Simply mince your herbs, add, and pour over the pasta.
The long simmering breaks down the tomatoes so you don't need to run
through a food mill, and retains just enough structure to stay non-runny.
If you process too far, by attempting to liquefy a sauce in a blender or a
food mill, the only way to get a thick sauce is to reduce it all the way to
paste, by continuing the simmering process, lid ajar, that I described.
Once you've broken down all structure altogether, you're left with a fluid,
and so until you get to the point where the water has evaporated enough to
be a paste, there's nothing to make the sauce thick. Another way of saying
that is that if you are looking to achieve a completely smooth, yet firm,
tomato sauce starting from whole tomatoes, you're asking how to make tomato
paste. And to that there's no real secret - just patience, low heat, and
removed lids.
--
Alex Rast
ad.rast.7@nwnotlink.NOSPAM.com
(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)
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| Kswck |
"Shrubman" <shrubman@charter.net> wrote in message
news:890b5b0a.0409061536.31a25779@posting.google.com...
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
>
> Thanks!
Try it w/fresh tomatoes and seed them first.
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| Arri London |
Shrubman wrote:
>
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
>
> Thanks!
Put it back to cook a little longer. It will thicken up when more water
has cooked off. That's one of the reasons for cooking the sauce for
hours.
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| Levelwave© |
Shrubman wrote:
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
Why not just 'cook it down', that is cook it longer and let some of the
water evaporate. I'm surprised no ones said this yet...
~john
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| Kswck |
"Levelwave©" <~last_exit@utc.edu> wrote in message
news:2q9m61Ft3la2U1@uni-berlin.de...
> Shrubman wrote:
>
>> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
>> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
>> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
>
>
> Why not just 'cook it down', that is cook it longer and let some of the
> water evaporate. I'm surprised no ones said this yet...
>
> ~john
And throw in a Parmesean rind for a bit of nutty flavor.
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| Shawn Hearn |
In article <890b5b0a.0409061536.31a25779@posting.google.com>,
shrubman@charter.net (Shrubman) wrote:
> Hey all,
>
> Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
>
> What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
Simmer the sauce longer. This will allow the sauce to reduce
and take on a thicker consistency.
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| BS |
Can you post this. It is available to only AOL members.
"tep1997" <tep1997@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:Kh8%c.107268$%n4.99671@bignews6.bellsouth.net...
> here's and awesome recipe for sauce that does "sit on top of the pasta
> instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl":
>
>
http://food.cookinglight.com/cookin...ecipe_id=686171
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Jack Schidt®" <jack-schidt@snot.net> wrote in message
> news:9r7%c.731$w17.390@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
> >
> > "Shrubman" <shrubman@charter.net> wrote in message
> > news:890b5b0a.0409061536.31a25779@posting.google.com...
> > > Hey all,
> > >
> > > Though I don't have a great deal of experience making pasta sauce, I
> > > have noticed an issue with my recipes. After simmering crushed or
> > > broken up whole tomatoes (canned, extra sauce drained) and assorted
> > > extras (onion, garlic, etc...) I put the whole mess through a food
> > > mill and inevitably my sauce turns out very watery.
> > >
> > > What's the trick to getting a nice thick sauce that sits on top of the
> > > pasta instead of settling to the bottom of the bowl? I've added tomato
> > > paste to the milled sauce but that seems like cheating...
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> >
> > Adding paste isn't cheating; it's what's done if you want to thicken up
> > tomato sauce other than cooking it down to...paste.
> >
> > Jack Ronzoni
> >
> >
>
>
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