A couple of weeks ago I made a trip out to The Pumpkin Patch to pick up some fresh produce from their market. While I was there I noticed that the 20 pound boxes of tomatoes had been marked down to $12.99 per box. That made the tomatoes only 65 cents per pound! A great deal and one that I just couldn’t pass up. I purchased one box of tomatoes and some other goodies and headed home.
I knew that pizza week was coming soon in the #tomatolove recipe exchange, so I decided I would use my tomatoes to make homemade pizza sauce. Before I show you how to make pizza sauce, I first want to invite you to come share in the tomato love at the Tomato Love Recipe Exchange, hosted by Gimme Some Oven & Bake Your Day, sponsored this week by Pizza Home Chef. Also visit Recipe for Change to learn more about how to support tomato farmers.
Making homemade pizza sauce does take some time because you need to allow the tomatoes to simmer for several hours. However, it is very simple to do and the end result will be well worth your time.
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Print recipeIngredients
- 15lb Ripe Tomatoes (any variety)
- 2 heaped teaspoons Minced Garlic
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons Sugar
- 1 heaped tablespoon Dried Italian Herb Blend
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
Directions
| Blanching the tomatoes | |
| Begin by bringing a large pot of water to boil. | |
| Wash the tomatoes. | |
 Use a sharp knife to cut a small X in the bottom of the tomato, but only cut the skin. | |
| Prepare a large ice bath. | |
 Place the cut tomatoes a few at a time into the pot of boiling water. Leave the tomato in the water until the skin begins to peel away, about 30 to 60 seconds. | |
 Remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and immediately submerge them in an ice bath until cool, about 1 to 2 minutes. | |
 Continue this process until all tomatoes have been blanched. | |
| Remove and discard the tomato skins. | |
| Removing the Seeds | |
 Cut each tomato into 4-6 wedges. | |
| Cut out the core. | |
| Use your fingers to scrape out all of the seeds. Discard the seeds. | |
| Cooking the Tomatoes | |
| Place all of the skinned and seeded tomato wedges in a large stock pot. | |
 Heat over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for about 5 hours, until most of the juice has evaporated. The tomatoes will reduce down to about 1/4 of their original volume. | |
| Season the Sauce | |
| Heat the olive oil in a large pot or sauté pan. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic gets a little color. | |
| Add the tomatoes to the garlic. | |
| Add the sugar. | |
| Rub the italian herbs between your palms and add them to the sauce. | |
| Season to taste with salt and pepper. | |
Once I had my tomato sauce prepared it was time to make some pizza!
I prefer my pizza on thin dough. I like the dough to be thin, crispy, and a little chewy. One of my favorite pizza dough recipes is from The Kitchn. Their recipe for thin crust dough is perfect because it’s easy to make, doesn’t need to be made ahead of time, and it bakes up crispy, with just the right amount of chewiness. You can find the recipe here.
Once I had my dough rolled out and ready to go, it was time to make pizza. Everyone in my house likes their pizza a little different as far as the toppings go, so we set up a topping buffet and we each made our own pizza. First, we spread some of the homemade pizza sauce on the dough. Then we loaded up our pizzas with lots of goodies.
Sammy likes his pizza with cheese and olives.
Captain Awesome topped his with chorizo, queso fresco, caramelized onions, and sliced bell peppers. Then he added a little more cheese for good measure.
I topped my pizza with canadian bacon, spinach, caramelized onions, roasted asparagus mushrooms, and sliced grape tomatoes.
It was dreadfully hot on the day we made our pizzas. Rather than turn on the oven, we decided to cook our pizzas on the grill. Cooking pizza on the grill is very simple. Brush a little olive oil on the dough, throw it on the grill, brush with more olive oil, flip it, top it, and let it cook until the cheese is all melty and bubbly. Easy! For a full tutorial on grilling pizza from The Kitchn, visit this link.
So tell me do you like thin or thick crust? And how do you like to top your pizza?
-Lacey
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