How To: Purée Fruits, Vegetables, & Other Foods Without a Blender or Food Processor

Yesterday, I was halfway through a recipe when I realized it called for puréed tomatoes, and all I had was diced. I definitely wasn't going to abandon ship and start over on something else, but I didn't want my sauce to have the wrong texture, either. So, I did a quick search and found that I could use my metal sieve to purée the tomatoes.

This technique works for a lot of different foods, but most of them have to cook for a while before they're soft enough to push through the sieve. I let my tomatoes simmer for about 30 minutes because I was in a hurry, but it was still pretty difficult to push them through, so let yours cook for longer if you have the time.

Do you know of any other tricks for puréeing foods without a food processor? Share with us in the comments.