Tomato Sauce Trio, Part II

Posted Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 3:20 pm PDT

Jarred tomato sauce is a great base for a pasta topper. It also makes a great salad dressing and even a dessert. Here are three recipes for a three-course tomato inspired dinner--salad dressing, pasta sauce and dessert--common recipes calling for fresh tomatoes that I love to substitute with Donatella sauces, but any quality jarred tomato sauce will do. And be sure to check out the first Tomato Sauce Trio for Bloody Mary, gazpacho and salsa recipes.

TOMATO GINGER VINAIGRETTE

1/2 jar of tomato sauce, smooth
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 large garlic clove, minced, peeled
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a blender, blend together all ingredients except oil until smooth. With motor running, add oil in a stream with salt and pepper to taste and blend until emulsified. Vinaigrette may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

PASTA SAUCE

2 tbsp olive oil
1 jar tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
8 fresh basil leaves
Fresh sea salt

Heat the oil and sauté the garlic until softened.

Add the sauce and cook on medium0high flame uncovered for 10-15 mins.

At the last minute, add salt and pepper and a handful of basil leaves.

GRANITA

1 jar tomato sauce

1/4 cup superfine granulated sugar
2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Puree sauce and sugar in food processor with sugar until smooth. Pour purée through a sieve, pressing hard on solids, into a shallow metal baking pan.

Stir in pepper and vinegar until combined well.

Freeze mixture, covered, stirring and crushing lumps with a fork about every 30 minutes, until no longer slushy but not frozen solid, 2 to 3 hours.

Just before serving, scrape granita with a fork to lighten texture and break up ice crystals.

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109 Comments

1. Posted by lovefood on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 11:04 am PDT

What size jar of tomato sauce? Useless without this.
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2. Posted by hunneebee22 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 11:07 am PDT

sorry, but...blech :P
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3. Posted by krischards on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 11:30 am PDT

Does this mean jarred "pasta sauce" or canned "tomato sauce"? They are different, and come in different sized "standard" containers.
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4. Posted by SevenCostanza on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 11:34 am PDT

Comment three is correct. Be more specific.
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5. Posted by analymoerman on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 11:42 am PDT

These recipies are so vague...what sizes? Sounds kinda gross...
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6. Posted by Jenhoven on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 11:42 am PDT

OMG! That Granita sounds DISGUSTING as a dessert! YUCK!!!!!
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7. Posted by Elena, NOT a Hornbeck, too bad this profile name can't be changed. on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 12:06 pm PDT

They all sound gross, especially the Granita. NO thank you.
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8. Posted by FaeryDame on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 12:45 pm PDT

There is a lot a person can do with "tomato sauce" but these recepies are rather boring, uninventive, and too vague to do anything with anyhow. Not enough flavors to make a 3 course meal of tomoto paste, or sauce, or whatever it is you mean to refer to, and not enough detail to know how even if a person wanted to. And that granita? That is just icky sounding. How is that a desert? It is, at best, a starter. And certainly other tomato granita recepies do not facade as a sweet treat. They have basil and olive oil, and are not loaded down with sugar, over processed tomoatoes, and the like, Good luck getting a kid to eat that!
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9. Posted by April D on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 12:57 pm PDT

I love pasta sauce and tomatos and there is SO much you can do with both/either that the above vague list is very disappointing. I wouldn't recommend these items if you actually wanted to enjoy a 3 course meal!
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10. Posted by Blondie on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 1:21 pm PDT

Not very appetizing.. very vague even if I wanted to try it... also the pasta sauce sounds soooo bland. Ragu might be better in this case.
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11. Posted by blragain on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 1:58 pm PDT

Sorry, no sauce in a jar is cutting it with me. I make my own sauce and have since I was a teen, my mom made her own, and my kids do too. Oh, and the granita sounds totally disgusting!
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12. Posted by mikeystar21 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:00 pm PDT

Blah i'll pass
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13. Posted by GraceFace on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:05 pm PDT

I think they mean a jar of tomato sauce. If the goal is to make "pasta sauce", why would you want to use a jar of pasta sauce?
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14. Posted by "O" on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:06 pm PDT

I make my own sauce as well, because someone living with me has dietary restrictions...like SO many people do today. How about offering something for those of us who have to cook for people who are limited with sodium, and the like? Granita, btw- mega-disgusto!
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15. Posted by laroset333 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:06 pm PDT

gross!
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16. Posted by sprightly_daisy04 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:06 pm PDT

Ick! The tomato ginger vinaigrette does not sound too bad and would probably be pretty good over pasta as would the actual pasta sauce, but granita is never a dessert. That is just wrong. Granita is more like an appetizer. Good luck getting anyone to see it as a dessert.
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17. Posted by lynneverette on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:07 pm PDT

I think you can do better than this!
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18. Posted by emmymfreeman on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:07 pm PDT

Does not sound good...
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19. Posted by collb05 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:07 pm PDT

hahah...everyone sounds excited to try the recipies!
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20. Posted by mariruth k on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:08 pm PDT

i would not even try to serve this mess to aneyone .
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21. Posted by Alana B on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:08 pm PDT

Donatella please amend your recipe and tell us what size jar of tomato sauce thank you!!!!
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22. Posted by Alana B on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:09 pm PDT

Donatella please amend your recipe and tell us what size jar of tomato sauce thank you!!!!
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23. Posted by peepersuncle on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:09 pm PDT

somebody take away her Italian cook card......
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24. Posted by Tamara N on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:10 pm PDT

make my own sauce really.. but thanks for posting for others...
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25. Posted by ums on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:10 pm PDT

wow, you guys are insanely rude. while the recipes are vague and not that appealing, there was no reason to overreact. maybe yahoo should relax on the sponser-based recipes. not so great this time around....
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26. Posted by Joseph K on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:11 pm PDT

How ridiculous are these recipes? Want to make a good pasta sauce? Can of tomato sauce, can of diced tomatoes drained, clove of garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbsp olive oil, parsley and oregano to taste. Heat the oil, fry the garlic until soft, pour in sauce, tomatoes, and everything else, and heat on low-medium flame until warm. Taste it. If it needs something, put it in. If it doesn't, let it simmer for at least 15 min. Serve, enjoy. The point is that there's a basic sauce recipe, but everyone has their own tastes that they need to tweak. And if your sauce really sucks, and you can't figure out why, brown a pound of ground beef, drain grease, and put it in the sauce to simmer for 15 minutes. Keep your stuff simple, and you won't look like a cooktard like this here.
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27. Posted by scoemery on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:11 pm PDT

I'll have to agree, the granita sounds rather hideous..if you spiked it with vodka, or something, like a "frozen" bloody mary,,it might work..but no way is this going to pass as a "dessert"...and that pasta sauce "recipie"..are you serious??
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28. Posted by Salemcat111 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:12 pm PDT

If you don't live in NY, you probably won't be able to get Donatella products so you won't ever get this right so none of this matters to the rest of the country. Doctoring a sauce takes more than a clove of garlic & some basil. Sugar & tomato sauce as a slushy treat? YUCK!!
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29. Posted by nanniepat38 on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:13 pm PDT

If you can do that, you can make your own in 10 minutes...get Lydia's FamilyTable cookbook. It tastes soooo much better than a jar!
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30. Posted by Monte H on Tue, Mar 27, 2007, 2:13 pm PDT

You need to bump things up a notch by adding ingredients like: capers, sun dried tomatoes, calamari, bleedin' Watney's Red Barrel, tree frogs from Iraq, fresh water clams, Rite Aid brandy, coconut shavings, artichoke hearts, fish bits, Wal-Mart gin, anchovy paste, caviar, pepper corns, juniper berries, duck feet, squash blossoms, tea leaves, jalapeno peppers, lark vomit, goat cheese, toscano salami, pine nuts, high fruitcose corn syrup, avacado body balm, road sweepings, radishes, scalloins, and more bleedin' Watney's Red Barrel.
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