I love homemade sauces. It’s incredibly satisfying to see our pantry shelves lined with jars and bottles of homemade goodness. (Somewhat akin to see our freezer neatly packed with meal components!)
And homemade tomato sauces, well, they’re right at the top of this list.
Wondering why I rate this humble Red Chilaquiles (pronounced Chee-lah-KEE-lez) sauce so highly?
Firstly, tomatoes made into a sauce are a quick and easy way to preserve the bounty from your vegie garden (or farmer’s market), so you can enjoy them year-round. There’s no additional cooking or flavouring needed – it’s as simple as opening a jar and proceeding with your recipe. A kitchen shortcut every Mama appreciates ?
Secondly, tomato sauces are probably the world’s most versatile sauce. Although they vary in flavour, they feature in many cuisines – Italian, Mexican, Spanish, French, Mediterranean, Greek, Indian, and African to name but a few. So, armed with a simple sauce, the world awaits.
Thirdly, tomatoes work well on their own (roasted adds an even more robust depth of flavour), or cooked up with onion or garlic for a simple, yet delicious result. Of course, tomatoes are often paired with other ingredients – herbs (particularly basil and oregano), capsicums, chillies, olives, capers and red or white wine – to yield a spectacular-tasting sauce. So, creating a tomato-based ‘fridge cleanout sauce’ is sure to be a winner. There are many options that it’s impossible to become bored ?
But, despite this dizzying array of possibilities, this Red Chilaquiles – a Mexican-inspired staple – is the sauce I reach for most often.
It’s my go-to sauce for almost every Mexican meal, but it works wonderfully for use lasagne or pasta, stretching a soup, drizzling over fried eggs or cooked meats, in my homemade baked beans or anywhere a jar of pasta sauce or passata is called for.
Really, there’s very few foods it wouldn’t work well with.
And while the name of this sauce might sound similar to a hot, chilli sauce, don’t let that put you off. I don’t put any chilli in it. This way all family members and visitors can enjoy the meal without fear of it being too hot for them (and they can add their own chilli, if that’s their jam).
So, next time you’ve got a bunch of vine-ripened tomatoes, you know what to do with them. But if you simply can’t wait, then a few tins of tomatoes will also do the trick!
I’d love to hear what dishes you used the sauce in ?
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