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–+ servings

Butter Heirloom Tomato Sauce

This easy sauce recipe transforms heirloom tomatoes into a flavorful, buttery, garlicky sauce with minimal ingredients required. Easy to freeze for a taste of summer all year round.
4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
5 from 12 ratings
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Ingredients

  • 3 lbs (1.5 kg) tomatoes
  • 1 Tbsp, extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • ½ cup (115 g) butter
  • 1 handful basil, torn
  • Salt, to taste

Instructions 

  • First, we will prepare the heirloom tomatoes. Use a knife to slice an X shape into the skins on each one.
  • Pour boiling water over the tomatoes. Letting them soak in boiling water will make them easy to peel. I like to pour some water directly over the X on the skin.
    Heirloom tomatoes scored
  • Allow to sit in the water for 2-3 minutes before removing them and pouring the water down the sink.
    Heirloom tomatoes soaking
  • Peel off the skins, starting from the area where the skins were cut.
    Peeled heirloom tomato
  • Roughly chop the tomatoes and place in a large bowl. As you chop, take out the big clusters of seeds and the cores. There's no need to remove all of the seeds though.
  • Heat the olive oil over a very low heat, and add the garlic to the pan, allowing to cook for 1-2 minutes until soft and fragrant. Be very careful not to let the garlic burn.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and mix to coat them in the garlic.
    Peeled heirloom tomatoes in a pan
  • Add the butter to the pan and mix gently, allow it to melt.
    Adding butter to the sauce
  • Add salt and then you will leave the sauce to simmer. Use a low heat - we want it to gently bubble, but not boil. It will take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours to cook down into the perfect sauce.
    The sauce midway through cooking
  • Check regularly on the sauce, stirring and using a wooden spoon to break up the tomato chunks (though you can leave it with some texture). It will be very watery for a while, but in time will change into a lovely thick sauce.
  • It is ready when it's thick and glossy and and you can see the butter separating from the tomatoes.
    The sauce after thickening
  • Stir in the basil.
  • Serve!

Notes

Nutritional information excludes any pasta - it's just for the sauce!
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Sauces
Calories: 269kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 200mg, Potassium: 827mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 3570IU, Vitamin C: 48mg, Calcium: 47mg, Iron: 1mg