When tomatoes are at their prime and fresh basil is abundant, I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend afternoon than simmering an enormous pot of fresh tomato sauce to put away for the winter months. There are few ingredients as versatile and usable as a good basic tomato sauce – as fall and winter schedules fill up, you can reheat some of your stash in minutes to pour over pasta or turn into soup. If you’re nervous about preserving in jars, this tomato and basil sauce freezes beautifully – just cool it completely and store in freezer bags or containers to thaw whenever you need it.

I recently received a new cookbook, and it instantly became one of my new favourites. The Harrow Fair Cookbook was inspired by the town of Harrow’s annual fair and the famed produce of this beautiful corner of Ontario, Canada. In it, recipes for everything from blue-ribbon pies to farmstand salads, fritters, ice cream, fried chicken and preserves, including this late-summer staple, tomato basil sauce. It’s a favourite of the authors, sisters Moira Sanders and Lori Elstone, who have fond memories of attending the Harrow Fair as children. Their book is based on the principle that what we eat today should be as natural as it was 156 years ago, when the fair was established. If it includes pie, biscuits, preserves and summer-in-a-jar sauces like this, I couldn’t agree more.

Fresh Tomato & Basil Sauce

No matter how many batches of this sauce we make in September, it’s never enough to last through the winter. Made with fresh tomatoes and basil, this is our go-to sauce for any meal where we need a simple but delicious tomato sauce.

1 cup (250 mL) extra virgin olive oil
9 garlic cloves, peeled
18 cups (4.5 L) peeled and seeded fresh tomatoes
2 cups (500 mL) reserved tomato water (see note below)
2 Tbsp (30 mL) fine sea salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) firmly packed fresh basil

Prepare eight 16 oz (500 mL) jars, lids, and rings for canning. Hold the sterilized jars in the boiling water canner until needed.

Heat the oil in a large stockpot set over medium heat. Add the whole garlic cloves and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until they are softened. Stir in the tomatoes and salt.

Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the basil and the reserved tomato water*.

Blend the sauce in a food processor until smooth. Return the sauce to the stockpot. Bring the sauce back up to a boil. Remove from heat.

Fill and seal the hot jars one at a time, according to the manufacturer’s directions. Process the jars in the boiling water canner for 20 minutes. Makes eight 16 oz (500 mL) jars.

Storage: Enjoy at any point, but use within 1 year.

*Note: Tomato water is the juice that is collected and saved from the process of seeding the tomatoes. To collect tomato water after you have finished seeding tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp in a fine sieve set over a large bowl.

Recipe and photo reprinted with permission from The Harrow Fair Cookbook, by Moira Sanders and Lori Elstone with Beth Goslin Maloney (Whitecap Books)

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