Fresh Tomato Sauce- Sốt Cà Chua Tươi

I have been growing tomato in my backyard for three years  and using them in the kitchen.  Nothing can beat the sun ripe tomato sauce from the backyard.  I still remember my first tomato sauce was thin as tomato juice because I covered the pot while simmering .  Well practice makes it perfect. I made some best pasta dish with homemade tomato sauce like Beef Ravioli.  Then one day, Marcella Hazan's the most famous and easiest tomato sauce floating around the web. I did not use butter but love the way onion simmer with tomato.  I am going to use this sauce for Homemade Scialatielli (Pasta with Basil) so I flavored it with basil but thyme, oregano work well too but adding herb slowly and taste to prevent overpower fresh tomato flavor.

1 pound tomatoes will make enough sauce for 2-3 people. Make sure use the big pot, the uncooked tomato amount should be at least 1/2 or 1/3 volume of the pot to prevent splashing during cooking.

4 pounds fresh tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion cut in halves
1/2 teaspoon salt
6-8 large fresh basil, rinsed, coarsely chopped or shredded

1. Wash tomato and cut them in large chunks (each into 6-8 pieces).  Remove and discard stems, white core and any brown spots on the skin.  Put them in a large pot, cover and bring it to a boil.  Reduce the heat down to gently simmer for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.  Set a food mill with the largest holes  over a heatproof bowl.  Transfer the hot tomato with all the juice to the mill and puree.  Discard seeds and skin.   If you do not have a food mill.  See other methods below.
2. Add onion, salt into the tomato juice.  Bring to a rapid and steady simmer, uncover.  Cook, stir often until thicken as you like about 35-45 minutes or less if you use less tomato ( about 15 minutes or 1 pound).  The volume should be reduced at least half or one-third.   Add basil, make a quick stir.  Remove and discard onion or puree in a food processor and add it back to the sauce.  

Different methods to skin and seed tomatoes without a food mill:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Make an ice bath in a large bowl.  Use a knife make an X at bottom of tomatoes.  Drop tomatoes in boiling water until the skin is easy to peel away about 1 minutes.  Remove and immediately drop them into ice bath.  Remove the skin, cut them in halves crosswise, squeeze the seeds out gently and use fingers to get them all.  Then coarsely cut tomatoes. 
• Freeze tomatoes and thaw them, the skin will slip off easy.  Cut in halves and remove the seeds.