Have you ever participated in a co-op for produce? We have several around us that I have participated in and love the concept. You get fruits and veggies at wholesale type pricing. You never know what you will get and that is the best part. It forces me to use fruits and veggies that I normally wouldn’t always buy in the grocery store. Ours also has options for adding more specific fruits and veggies which is how I stock my freezer with produce to use throughout the year. The box I got this week had lots of tomatoes. My sister also got a box and since she is allergic to tomatoes I got hers as well. So what is a girl to do with all of those tomatoes? Make Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce of course.
This is an easy recipe and the hardest part is chopping veggies and being patient while it cooks.
You will want to start by chopping two medium onions and get them cooking down in some olive oil. When the onions start to brown just a tad, add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, and dried herbs. The tomato paste is my secret ingredient that helps to bring that punch of tomato flavor when maybe your tomatoes are off season a bit. This mixture will cook for about 45 minutes. You want the tomatoes to break down the tomato skin and meld the divine simple flavors together.
After the tomato sauce has cooked down you can do one of two things: leave it large chunky and spoon over your favorite piece of fish or pasta (in this case you will then just stir in the fresh basil to the sauce) or you can place the sauce in the food processor along the with basil to make a smoother sauce. The food processor will still make the sauce slightly chunky, but will meld the ingredients more. I prefer it this way so that the sauce is more of a pesto tomato sauce.
Since my kids won’t really eat tomato sauce this recipe was enough for two meals for my husband and me so I froze half for another week.
Ingredients Instructions
Pin this recipe for anytime you go tomato crazy at the store or from your co-op. This sauce is fresh, beautiful, and delicious. A perfect blend between tomato sauce and pesto.
Looks amazing!
This looks delicious! We have a weekly CSA and usually get an abundance of tomatoes. Sadly they experienced blight this year – no tomatoes, but I’ll definitely be buying some from the farmer’s market and making this!
I just loved that it was so easy to make. Very few ingredients and tasted so fresh!!
This. Looks. Amazing! I love everything “tomato” and cannot wait to try this!
Participating in a food co-op is definitely something I want to do .. however, since my husband travels quite a bit and it’s just me .. I think it would be a waste .. so I just rely on the grocery store 🙂
Your sauce sure looks good though !!
Monica.
There are some co-ops around here that have half shares which is nice
Thank you!! This looks perfect and delicious. I’m trying to make more and more from scratch and don’t have a tomato sauce recipe I like yet. I’m a big fan of basil so I can’t wait to try this! Great to find your blog – I’m a runner too, training for my first Half. Best wishes!
Best of luck to you on your training!!
That looks delicious! My boyfriend just made fresh pasta sauce last week. So much better than the store version.
I love using fresh seasonal ingredients and I bet this taste great!
it was so yummy that I even ate it like a salsa.
What an awesome idea and what a great tomato sauce! Looks delish 🙂
Thanks so much!
That looks amazing and I bet it smells to die for! Thanks for posting!
This looks really delicious 🙂 I love the step-by-step instructions, very helpful!
Great to hear of the wholesale prices !!
Makes me want pasta lol I never heard of co-op buying where do you go to get produce at a wholesale price
There are several co-ops around Houston. The one I use a lot is Bountiful Baskets and they have locations all around the country. Check their website for locations!!
Tomato basil is one of my favorite flavor combinations. I haven’t made my own sauce, but I think I’ll have to give it a try.
It is so easy. hardest part is chopping it up. Otherwise you just have to be patient while it cooks.
This looks like the most yummy thing ever. I just want to put mozzarella cheese on top of the picture on the computer and go to town! Nothin’ better than fresh home grown ‘maters! I am actually sad that summer is over because that means no more tomatoes for a good long while. Store tomatoes are horrible and Winter tomatoes are inedible!
Ooo cheese part does sound good and it could be an Italian Cheese dip!!
My oldest son would absolutely love this. He is always cooking pasta and searching for some type of sauce. I probably will make a large quantity of it and freeze it in smaller portions. Looks delicious!
Oh this sounds amazing! I love the basil, thyme and rosemary in there!
I have never done a co-op. I do participate in the community supported agriculture program and get whatever the farmers produce throughout the season. It is fabulous and a great way to get local vegetables.
I haven’t heard of produce co-ops before. I will have to look into that. Your tomato sauce looks amazing. I still have to get tomato sauce canned before all the tomato deals are gone. This would be amazing to have ready later in the winter.
Yum! Sounds fabulous. This is something my whole family would enjoy. Can’t wait to give it a try.
I will have to try this- it looks amazing!
We have a farm to table market/co-op in our area. I have never participated but its on my list of things to try! The recipe sounds delicious!! Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Thank you for this great recipe. Your pictures are great too. I just pinned this for the next time I have lots of tomatoes.
This looks delicious! I love making my own sauces so I’ll definitely bookmark the recipe and give it a try! Thanks! 🙂
Sadly, my daughter is also allergic to tomatoes – otherwise we would be having this for dinner tonight! Looks incredible!
My husband is Italian, he’d love for me to have too many tomatoes to find something to make with 😉 My homemade sauce has to simmer 7-8 hours, so it’s an all day project, and I tend to make it in bulk and freeze. Your sauce looks delicious as well 🙂
The last of my tomatoes are sitting on the counter waiting for a burger, salt and pepper, or a recipe. Maybe I’ll give them one a shot. I’m now addicted to fresh tomatoes and will miss them this winter.
Wow, this looks delicious. I can only imagine how much better it tastes with fresh, seasonal tomatoes.
The co-op idea sounds great. I wonder if there are any near me. Great use for the tomatoes.
Love your recipe, and adding tomato paste is something new to me. Need to try it while we still have good tomatoes. I always wanted to participate in the co-op, have known about them for a long time, but it just happens that every summer I spend with my family in Ukraine, so I haven’t tried it yet. Sounds very exciting though!
I printed your recipe!! I have a bunch of tomatoes from our garden (only the tomatoes survived) that I don’t really know what to do with so …I am going to make this and freeze it!! Thanks!
Oh yay! It really is an easy and yummy recipe!
I must try this recipe! I ever made such a tomato sauce before, but I think your tomato sauce are better than mine 🙂
I had never made it either until I did this one. So easy!!
Yum! I love just about anything with tomato and basil! This looks like a delicious sauce.
This recipe sounds delicious! I participate in a co-op as well, and love being surprised by the variety of new veggies each week. We have had tons of tomatoes the last few weeks, so I will be giving this sauce a try. 🙂
Co-ops have helped me to branch out of my normal buying routine and forced me to try new recipes like this one.
I am not a member of a co-op or even plant my own veggies. i have been considering starting my own organic garden though so maybe I will come back to these recipes when i have something i have harvested 🙂
I mostly just do herbs in my garden because I am not that great at anything else. Growing herbs is much less expensive than having to buy them at the store.
Interesting! I am not a member, but believe me, the way I consume veggies I should start my own. Buying fresh fruits and vegetables in the city can be so expensive at times and I know I am not always getting the best. Great recipe by the way and I am definitely pinning this because it looks amazing and so easy to cook.
thrifting diva
http://www.thriftingdiva.com
Yes I wish I could grow my own but seem to only have a green thumb for herbs.
April, your pics are great! I love making my own sauce. The flavors are better. I like having control over what does (and does not) go into the sauce. We have a few co-op’s in our area. I have thought about joining them off and on over the years. What made you decide to join? What do you look for in a co-op? I do love having fresh produce as much as possible. We have a small garden right now (we’re renting). I’m going to add co-op research onto my list. ~Adrienne
For me I mostly use co-op in the summer time so that I can stock up on fruits and veggies while they are in season and cheaper. My co-op offers add ons of fruits a lot of times so I take them and freeze for my smoothies and other recipes. Or make sauces like this one.
This sounds fantastic! I am going to have to add some ingredients to my shopping list for this 😀
That looks delish! I started looking into a co-op in our area and then of course, kids happen and you forget. I need to go back and finish my research so we can get started! Thanks for the reminder!
They really are great for getting produce at a way reduced cost!
This looks like a good idea, but I usually eat all the tomatoes we get because I love them so and love to eat them in season 🙂
We don’t have a co op like this I wish we did! I didn’t even put a garden out this year and had to rely on farmer’s markets for all of my produce. I will next year though. The tomato basil looks delicious.
Yes we live near Houston so there are plenty of them around.
This looks like a recipe I will have to try! Thank you for sharing!
i first gotta learn how to chop vegetables 😀
I don’t have a co-op in my town. A few of my family members will love to try your fresh tomato basil sauce! It looks really good but I can’t have onions.