Homemade Spaghetti Sauce for the Anti-Tomato Man

[larry_stewart]

I think if your husband likes the store bought brands, and doesnt like too much of a tomato taste, I think the high sugar/ salt is necessary. In addition, a little parmesan cheese ( not a lot) would mask some of the tomato flavors as well as a little cut up green pepper ( which is typically not in the store bought sauces, but does a good job adding a different flavor). Also, some tomato paste to thicken the fresh tomato sauce would make the consistency similar.

 

[bert bakering]

i almost don't want to say it, but add sugar.

Or take some mince meat, fry it and add some of your tomato sauce to it and cook for a hour or so...

 

[cara]

do you use dried or fresh herbs?

 

[ChefJune]

Thanks guys! I am sure it will help if I can reduce the size of any discernable vegetable pieces .

There is definitely a taste issue going on too though.

Here is the recipe:

Remove the skin from 12-15 tomatos

Saute:
2 green peppers
3 carrots
1-2 onions
3 cloves of garlic.

Put everything in a big pot and add:
4 t. basil
4 t. oregano
1 t. pepper
3 t. salt
4 t. honey

Stir and simmer to desired consistency.

It's fairly general. I think for this batch I used 15 tomatos, 2 small green peppers, 3 carrots, 2 small onions, and I had to use garlic powder instead of fresh (I think the conversion was 1/4 t. to 1 clove, so 3/4 t.)

Two things jumped out at me when I read the recipe:

Green peppers. NONONONO! sub out 2 stalks of celery, finely chopped for the green peppers.
No olive oil. you need at least a bit.

What is the honey about?

and you need real garlic. powder is not a good sub.

Maybe add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for that amount of other ingredients, to smooth it out. But I'm betting it is the "sharpness" of the green peppers that is turning him off. They're green because they are not ripe. If you're determined to use peppers, red or yellow ones would add more "roundness" of flavor.

I also always add a generous pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to my sauce. It doesn't make it hot, just adds a little "zest."

 

[CharlieD]

Since the sauce is already prepared the question is how to fix it now and make it differently next time.
I’d sauté some finely diced onion in some olive oil, alone with Read peppers (as Chef June said green peppers are BIG-BIG NO-NO in my book). What does your husband like? Mushrooms, zucchini, black or green olives, add parsley, dill, whatever else that will please him and kill that tomato taste.

 

[chefkathleen]

I don't know if I'd put celery, dill or zukes(they'd break down) in but, definitely add more seasonings and always fresh garlic if you have it. Since you seem to have a green thumb you should start an herb garden(basil and oregano for sure). All these fresh things in the sauce sound like it will only get better the more you make it.

 

[jen11]

Update: he likes it! (and so do the kids!)

And so do my mom and dad, and their taste-testing friends (who said specifically that my sauce was better than Prego, lol )

Thank you all for the great suggestions. My husband, children, parents and parent's friends all really liked the "new version" of the sauce. I will try to incorporate more of the ideas the next time I try to make spaghetti sauce; this time around I was somewhat limited, but it actually turned out pretty well!

This is what I did in my attempt to salvage the originally-rejected sauce (we were away, so it also sat in the fridge for a few days):

I put the sauce in the blender to get a smoother texture.

Chopped onions and heated them until they were transparent in a pan with a generous dollop of olive oil and a bit of brown sugar.

Brought the sauce back to boiling (seemed like a good idea for food safety, anyway), added the onions and a dash of garlic powder.

Kept the sauce simmering uncovered for a few hours so it got nice and thick.

Thanks to y'all, I felt like a much more capable cook than I actually am, stirring and sprinkling, while the sauce bubbled gently away on the stove. And everybody ate it!

 

[larry_stewart]

Sounds like a success story. My advice for you is to write down exactly what you did. Because as much as you think you will remember it for the next time you make it, if your anything like me, you will forget. Even if you continue to change it as the sauce evolves from the recipe passed on to you , to your own sauce. Dont be afraid to experiment and try new things.

 

[letscook]

i had some tomatoes from my parents, assorted kinds, cherry, roma, grape, and beefsteak, I wasn't using them fast enough and decided to cut them all in half, the bigger ones cut more to make all about the same size, put them on a baking sheet pan and salt and pepper, 3-4 garlic cloves, one large onion sliced and olive oil, let them roast in the oven till they wilted and just started to brown. took them and all the juice from them put them in the food processor - blended them all up added some fresh basil - blended it up for a second or 2. It was awesome . I did it again only added some green peppers to roast with it. I could of forgotten the pasta and just kept dipping the bread in the sauce.

 

[chefkathleen]

WTG Jen! We're proud and happy for you. Keep working on it and it will turn into one of those things that the kids and grandkids will be talking about for years to come.

 

[CharlieD]

You know what I like the most, the fact that you came back and told us what happened. I am too nosy and love when people come back with result and hate when they don’t thanks a bunch. I’m glad everybody liked the sauce. In the end that is why we cook.