Like most comfort foods, Tomato Gravy was developed out of necessity. In other words, we ate what we had on hand. When times were hard, we foraged in our pantries and gardens and came up with dinner. Big pots and skillets bubbled away on the stove, biscuits baked in the oven, and we sat down and ate as a family.
Perhaps that's why certain foods make us feel good. Even if we don't remember hard times like our parents or grandparents did, we sat at the table with these family folks eating the comfort foods from their youth, and it became our comfort food.
A good Tomato Gravy takes on as many forms as there are cooks. Depending on the season, we might use fresh or canned tomatoes, green peppers, onions, or anything else we can forage. Diced, fresh tomatoes are my preferred choice, but in the middle of the winter, diced canned tomatoes will do just fine. Once we get the oil and flour cooking, the rest is decided with what we have on hand.
Tomato Gravy starts with a good, golden roux. Every cook knows you need a thickener to begin your tomato gravy dish and that thickener should be a mixture of oil and flour cooked until it's slightly golden in color - in other words, a roux. If you are afraid to let your roux get golden color, you will end up with a flour taste in your finished dish. You can use a combination of butter and oil for extra flavor, but don't use only butter as it tends to burn rather easily.
You can serve tomato gravy as a main dish or a side dish. Spooned over some homemade biscuits with a little salad on the side, you have a great lunch. Grill some fish and serve some oven fried potato wedges with tomato gravy drizzled on top and you have a filling dinner. Tomato gravy can be spooned over hot vegetables or mixed into pasta or rice for a delicious, and satisfying meal anytime.
Even if you don't happen to have an old family recipe for tomato gravy, there are plenty of resources to find one. Any good cookbook will have at least one recipe and the internet recipe sites will have plenty to choose from. You'll probably be overwhelmed at first because there are so many variations. Stick to the most simple recipes at first. You can always expand later, but even the simplest recipe of a roux, tomatoes with salt and pepper will taste great when you're hungry!
One thing to keep in mind when you're looking at recipes is that you'll see cooks using a cast iron skillet. I love my cast iron skillets too much to boil up tomato gravy in them. It looks pretty on the pictures in the cookbooks, but tomatoes are very acidic and will quickly destroy your cast iron skillet's patina. Use your regular pots and pans for this dish and save your cast iron skillet for frying up your chicken.
All it takes to serve a wonderfully filling comfort food is a few readily available ingredients - that's how all comfort foods are created. Treat your family to a simple and tasty Tomato Gravy made easily with ingredients you have on hand and warm your family inside and out with a heaping helping of this simple dish that's filled love.
Perhaps that's why certain foods make us feel good. Even if we don't remember hard times like our parents or grandparents did, we sat at the table with these family folks eating the comfort foods from their youth, and it became our comfort food.
A good Tomato Gravy takes on as many forms as there are cooks. Depending on the season, we might use fresh or canned tomatoes, green peppers, onions, or anything else we can forage. Diced, fresh tomatoes are my preferred choice, but in the middle of the winter, diced canned tomatoes will do just fine. Once we get the oil and flour cooking, the rest is decided with what we have on hand.
Tomato Gravy starts with a good, golden roux. Every cook knows you need a thickener to begin your tomato gravy dish and that thickener should be a mixture of oil and flour cooked until it's slightly golden in color - in other words, a roux. If you are afraid to let your roux get golden color, you will end up with a flour taste in your finished dish. You can use a combination of butter and oil for extra flavor, but don't use only butter as it tends to burn rather easily.
You can serve tomato gravy as a main dish or a side dish. Spooned over some homemade biscuits with a little salad on the side, you have a great lunch. Grill some fish and serve some oven fried potato wedges with tomato gravy drizzled on top and you have a filling dinner. Tomato gravy can be spooned over hot vegetables or mixed into pasta or rice for a delicious, and satisfying meal anytime.
Even if you don't happen to have an old family recipe for tomato gravy, there are plenty of resources to find one. Any good cookbook will have at least one recipe and the internet recipe sites will have plenty to choose from. You'll probably be overwhelmed at first because there are so many variations. Stick to the most simple recipes at first. You can always expand later, but even the simplest recipe of a roux, tomatoes with salt and pepper will taste great when you're hungry!
One thing to keep in mind when you're looking at recipes is that you'll see cooks using a cast iron skillet. I love my cast iron skillets too much to boil up tomato gravy in them. It looks pretty on the pictures in the cookbooks, but tomatoes are very acidic and will quickly destroy your cast iron skillet's patina. Use your regular pots and pans for this dish and save your cast iron skillet for frying up your chicken.
All it takes to serve a wonderfully filling comfort food is a few readily available ingredients - that's how all comfort foods are created. Treat your family to a simple and tasty Tomato Gravy made easily with ingredients you have on hand and warm your family inside and out with a heaping helping of this simple dish that's filled love.
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Gather up your family for some delicious tomato gravy tonight for dinner! Check out even more easy homemade recipes that are simple to make but will give your dinner table a real homemade feel, and taste!
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