Delicious tomato sauce with basil for the winter
Our recipe for tomato sauce with basil for the winter, complete with step-by-step photos, is a delicious and aromatic tomato condiment. You can use it to bake a Margherita pizza, cook spaghetti, add it to tomato soup, or simply spread it on crispy toast. Dried basil can be used instead of fresh herbs. For the number of tomatoes specified in the recipe, you'll need one tablespoon of dried basil.
It will take 40 minutes to prepare, the specified ingredients will make 0.5 l.
Ingredients for basil sauce:
- tomatoes – 1 kg;
- green basil – 50 g;
- granulated sugar – 45 g;
- table salt – 15 g;
- ground sweet paprika – 5 g.
How to make tomato sauce with basil
Wash the red, fleshy tomatoes and cut them into quarters. For sauces, it's best to choose large tomatoes, even if they're bruised, but without any signs of rot or spoilage.
Place the chopped tomatoes in a deep, thick-bottomed saucepan. Incidentally, it's best to trim off the hardened parts near the stems if you're using store-bought tomatoes.
Cover the saucepan with a lid, place it on the stove, and bring to a boil. Simmer the vegetables for 15-20 minutes, until they are completely cooked through.
Next, we rub the boiled tomatoes through a fine sieve - we don’t need pieces of skin and tomato seeds.
We pluck the green basil leaves from the tough stems. Stack the leaves and roll them into a roll. Then finely shred the rolled leaves—this is a very convenient way to chop basil, recommended by Italians.
Add chopped herbs to the saucepan, add table salt and granulated sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat. Be careful—the thick paste will spit out as it boils, so keep your eyes and hands out of harm's way. Simmer the sauce over low heat, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Sterilize wide-mouthed jars or bottles over steam. Pour the boiling sauce into the containers and seal with lids.
Sterilize half-liter jars in boiling water for 10 minutes, and liter jars for 15 minutes. Seal tightly and store in a dark, dry place away from central heating. These preserves store well in a typical city apartment.