Equipment Notes

• I like using a food processor to process the tomatoes. However, this does leave the seeds in the sauce. (Once they go through the food processor you hardly notice them.) If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a regular blender or an immersion blender instead. If you use an immersion blender, just be sure to process the tomatoes before they get hot or you risk splattering hot tomato sauce on yourself.
• If you don’t have any of these appliances, don’t fear: You can make this sauce without processing the tomatoes, it will just be chunky instead of smooth. If you are going to take this approach finely chop the onions & herbs and mince the garlic. Break up the tomatoes with your hands as you put them in the pot. When you stir the sauce you can use the spoon to break up and large chunks of tomato.
• If you are a perfectionist and want to get the seeds out of your sauce: Use a food mill instead of the food processor. To use this approach, process the canned tomatoes using the food mill first (before adding the onions, etc.). Put the processed tomatoes in the stock pot. Add the onions, garlic, and herbs to the food processor and add a little of the processed tomatoes to it (for liquid). Process for 20-30 sec until the chunks of onion are the desired size.

Detailed Instructions