Fresh Tomato Sauce For Italian Meatloaf Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Toast the bread crumbs in a dry skillet over medium heat until browned and fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Add the olive oil, onions, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper to the skillet and cook until onions are tender, about 8 minutes. Let cool slightly. Add the onions to the bread crumbs along with the meat, cheese, and Worcestershire sauce. Toss and mix gently. Add the eggs and stir to coat the meat completely.
• Transfer to a foil-lined sheet pan and gently press into desired shape. Bake until an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees F in the center of the loaf, about 45 minutes.
• Tent the meatloaf with foil and let rest for 15 minutes while you make the gravy (or you can make the gravy while the meatloaf is baking).
• Gravy: Cook the onions, garlic, and oregano in the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Add the tomato paste and bay leaf. Stir until paste turns brick red and garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook sauce until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Whisk in Parmesan cheese, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Discard the bay leaf and transfer the sauce to a gravy boat. Slice the meatloaf and serve with the gravy.
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Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, mix together ground beef, eggs, bread crumbs and ketchup. Season with Italian-style seasoning, oregano, basil, garlic salt, diced tomatoes and cheese. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan, and cover loosely with foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven approximately 1 hour, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the onions in a heavy skillet, preferably nonstick. Cover and cook on low heat about 10 minutes, until the onions are soft and just beginning to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook a minute or so longer. Remove one-third of this mixture from the pan and set aside.
• Add one-third of the tomatoes to the pan and cook about five minutes, until the excess liquid has evaporated. Transfer mixture to food processor and process to chop very fine.
• Place the finely chopped onion mixture in a bowl and mix well with the bread crumbs, the beef, the egg, oregano, half the parsley, the red pepper and salt and pepper. Form the mixture into a loaf and place in a shallow baking dish. Bake 90 minutes.
• While the meatloaf is baking, return the reserved onion mixture to the skillet. Add the remaining tomatoes and the olive oil. Simmer over medium heat about 10 minutes. Add the reserved parsley and season to taste with crushed red pepper, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set this sauce aside until you are ready to serve the meatloaf, then reheat the sauce and serve it alongside.

Steps:

• Wash, and core tomatoes. I also like to cut the little "nub" off of the bottom of the tomato. Just the nub, and this will make it easier to remove the skins from the tomatoes.
• Place whole tomatoes in a large pot and drizzle 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over tomatoes. Place lid on pot and heat over medium.
• After about 15 minutes give the tomatoes a stir (I use a fork to do this), ensuring not to break them up. This moves the ones on top to the bottom to help the skins to become loose and to prevent burning any skins. Cover and allow to cook for 15 more minutes.
• After 15 minutes, take a fork and fish out a tomato from the bottom. Keeping the tomato in the pot, use two forks, or a fork and wood spoon to start removing the skins. If you like, you can take the tomato out and place on a plate or in a bowl to do this, just make sure you keep the juices. If the tomatoes are not fully ready to be skinned, put the lid back on and check every 5 minutes. (This is the most time consuming part, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes really simple.).
• After all or most of the skins have been discarded, lower the temperature to medium low and allow to simmer uncovered. This is simply stewed tomatoes at this point.
• Once an hour, check the sauce and stir thoroughly. Using a wooden spoon, start to break up the tomatoes over the period of checking them. (Note: Don't break them all the way up on the first, second of even third time of checking them. Break them down over time).
• After about 5 hours, smash all tomatoes with whatever instrument you can find that will work. Add garlic cloves whole, use more than 5 if you like, I DO! (Do not mince/chop garlic) Allow to simmer for another hour. (Note: If you feel the sauce has reached your desired consistency or is nearing, you can add the garlic earlier).
• After 1 more hour, the garlic should be soft enough to smash easily on the side of the pot and the garlic will literally disintegrate into the sauce. If sauce is at your desired consistency, you can remove from the hot eye at this point and go to the next step, if you like your sauce a little less runny, or thicker, leave on and continue to monitor to your liking.
• Once the sauce is to your desired consistency, remove from heat and add 1 cup of fresh basil leaves, stir. Fresh is important to making really good sauce. Salt to taste. If you like a little spice, add some crushed red pepper.