A Simple Sauce

Tomato Sauce should not intimidate anyone- it requires few ingredients and can be tailored to your favorite flavors and texture. Depending on the dish I like to change up the type of tomatoes I use, how much heat to add, and the amount of wine needed. Below I’ve written out an outline of my favorite basic tomato sauce- but feel free to play around with the proportions and ingredients to make it your own!

Makes: About 4-6 servings  Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

·       1- 28oz can of tomatoes- Sauce, Crushed, or Diced tomatoes depending on the consistency you would like. Also look for a can or jar that contains just tomatoes rather than added seasonings.

·        3 cloves of garlic

·        1/2 large white onion

·        Handful of fresh basil

·        Generous amounts of black pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper (depending on your preferences)

·        1/3 cup of red wine. I like to add a Cabernet Sauvignon which adds a nice depth of flavor to the sauce without tasting too strongly of alcohol. However, if you have a favorite red feel free to try that or leave out the wine entirely!

·        About 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Recipe

1. In a large pot, add olive oil.

2. Rough chop the garlic and onion and add to olive oil. Turn on low-medium heat and simmer.

3. Once garlic and onion are soft (onions will look translucent) and fragrant, our in the tomatoes. Stir well.

4. Bruise the fresh basil to release the natural oils- Place in a ziplock bag, and using a rolling pin or spoon press down to “bruise” the leaves. You can also use dried basil if you have that handy instead

5. Add basil to the sauce and stir briefly.

6. Add a generous amount of black pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper (if you like heat).
   A word of advice- it needs more spice that you expect. Add some spice, stir and taste- if it is not the flavors you’re looking for- KEEP ADDING! The flavors will develop and blend the longer the sauce is simmering on the stove, however do not be shy with your spices.

7. Add in wine and stir briefly.

8. Cover sauce and turn stove to low. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes- 1 hour (depending on how much time you have and how hungry you are!)

9. Serve over pasta or pour pasta into sauce mix until coated and Enjoy!

The sauce stores great, keep it in the fridge to eat during the week or freeze it to enjoy months later. This is an easy recipe to double or triple (Just make sure you increase the amount of spices!) and easy to stock up on!

Tips:

• Instead of cooking on the stove top, I sometimes like to make this in a crockpot. Follow the same steps just allow to simmer for hours (3-4) and let the flavors really develop (and not require so much attention as a stove top. It also helps when cooking a larger amount (I do not have too many big pots to accommodate that much sauce, but a crockpot or slowcooker does it well.

• If you are cooking more than serving size here, the sauce will need to simmer for longer- keep this in mind when planning out your meals.

• I love using crushed or diced tomatoes when I want a chunkier sauce. It adds texture and flavor without weighing down the pasta.

• The “Sauce” tomatoes are great when cooking with a hearty pasta, adding in meat, or using it in a baked ziti or lasagna.

• Cook ground meat before hand and add to the sauce for an easy meat sauce!