Tomato Sauce Leather Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the olive oil and garlic cloves in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is soft and golden brown, about 6 minutes (do not let the garlic burn). Once the cloves are nicely browned remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the onion to the garlic-infused oil and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Crush the can of San Marzano tomatoes into the pot with your hands, then fill the can with water and pour it into the sauce. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, granulated garlic, onion powder and crushed red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Finely chop the reserved browned garlic cloves and add to the sauce.
• Stir in the Parmesan rind, if using, and the basil sprig. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until it has deepened in color and reduced slightly, about 1 hour 30 minutes (if the sauce begins to scorch, lower the heat). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the Parmesan rind and basil before serving.

Steps:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.
• In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.

Steps:

• Run Sauce Through a Blender Start with your grandma's homemade tomato sauce recipe or buy a jar of Marinara Sauce. My favorite brand is Barilla® Spicy Marina. Run the tomato sauce through a blender to a smoothie-like consistency. Blending any chunks of tomatoes or other vegetables in the sauce thickens the sauce so it will make better leather. You will add back more dehydrated vegetables to these recipes later. Not too Cheesy! A little olive oil in the ingredients won't cause early spoilage, but avoid drying cheesy sauces like Vodka Sauce or Three-Cheese Sauce. The cheese adds fat which may shorten the shelf life of the leather. Cheesy sauces can be dried for short term use. The end product will feel greasier and more crumbly than cheese-less dried marinara sauce. A safer bet is to add cheddar cheese powder or parmesan cheese to the meal rather than to the leather. Spread Thinly Spread the sauce thinly on dehydrator trays covered with non-stick Paraflexx® sheets, parchment paper, or the fruit-roll sheets that came with your dehydrator. Don't use wax paper because the wax melts. I pour about eight fluid ounces onto each Excalibur Dehydrator tray and spread uniformly to the edges. Dry It Dehydrate at 135° for six to eight hours or you may dry at 125° for eight to ten hours with equally good results. Dehydrating times may vary depending on dehydrator model and humidity. Flip It After about five hours, the sauce should be solidified enough for you to peel it off the trays and flip it over for the duration on the drying time. Remove the non-stick sheets during the latter drying stage so both sides of the leather are exposed to the hot air. If you start the drying process before going to bed or work, the leather will turn out fine if you don't flip it. It just may take a little longer to dry and you can always flip and dry it for an hour or so to finish the job when you get to it. The finished product will be leathery and dry to the touch, not sticky. Pack It Allow the leather to cool and then tear it into pieces. Store leather in a jar with a tight fitting lid until you are ready to pack it in plastic bags for a backpacking trip. I have packed sauce leather in mail drops for month-long hikes and it retained its full flavor and quality, although my daily rations were vacuum sealed. Leather which I have stored at home in jars in a cupboard was still in great shape when I ate it after six months. The color turns a little darker over time. When combined with an equal part of hot water, leather will turn back into tomato sauce. Salsa Leather Blend and dry salsa the same way as tomato sauce. Create a tasty Mexican-style meal with rice, chicken and/or black beans, vegetables such as bell peppers and corn, and salsa leather.