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I lived with my grandparents for the second half of high school. Upon his retirement, my grandfather grew bored and taught himself to cook watching cooking shows on TV. His spaghetti sauce was something I loved. His included sausage and meatballs and he left it chunky, but he'd strain it for me and I'd devour a huge plate of pasta. When I left for college, my grandparents moved down south so I didn't see them as much, but whenever I visited, my grandfather made his sauce.
For my first couple of years "on my own," I lived in dorms or with (awful) roommates. But my Senior year, I moved into my own apartment, and slowly began stocking up my kitchen. This tomato sauce was always a work in progress. I took the basics from my memories of my grandfather's sauce, and added different things with each new attempt. I puree my sauce with an immersion blender, and I have a different recipe for meatballs, but I love my sauce as much as I love my grandfather's.
My love of cooking and baking eventually grew and I learned to make a lot more than sauce. I cooked a lot when Audrey's father and I were dating. Cooking for someone else is rewarding, when its appreciated. Even if it's not your best cooking, the constructive criticism is helpful. The more I cooked & the better I got at it, the more I liked it.
Cooking and baking are my biggest hobbies, so I plan to share many more recipes - my own or ones from elsewhere that I enjoy. But I thought starting with the basics, and one of my first successes, is fitting.
Tomato Sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cans Whole San Marzano Tomatoes*
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 Large Yellow Onion
1 Bell Pepper (I usually use red**)
4-5 cloves of garlic
Crushed red pepper to taste, start with about 1/4 tsp.
3-4 bay leaves
1-2 T Oregano
1-2 T Basil, or a large handful of fresh torn basil leaves
1/4-1/2 Dry Red Wine
2 T Butter
1/4 Cup Grated Parm or Romano
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 T Sugar
Clearly there's a trend here - this recipe isn't an exact science, and it's very customizable. Omit the butter and cheese if you don't eat dairy. Add in more veggies - carrots, mushrooms, etc. Leave out the wine if you don't have it.
1. Dice all the veggies. Coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and peppers. Cook till softened. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and cook for another minute or two.
2. Add the canned tomatoes and the paste. With a potato masher, break up the whole tomatoes a bit.*** Add the oregano, basil, red wine, butter, cheese, salt, and sugar. Stir and add the bay leaves.
3. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes. I usually let mine simmer for more like an hour or two. Taste and adjust as necessary.
4. Once you're satisfied with how your sauce tastes, remove the bay leaves and blend, either in a blender (with a towel covering the hole up top to let the heat escape but keep in the mess) or with an immersion blender. Serve immediately, or let cool and then store in jars to refrigerate or freeze.
*You can also use your own canned tomatoes - something I plan on doing later this summer. Or, you can roast fresh tomatoes by washing, halving, seeding, coating in EVOO & S+P and putting skin up on a baking tray in the oven. Obviously, fresh is best but as long as you're using quality canned tomatoes, it isn't a huge enough difference to be worth the extra time/expense, in my opinion.
**Red peppers are just fully ripened green peppers. They are the sweetest, with green being a bit bitter and orange and yellow peppers in between in sweetness.
***Why use whole tomatoes if you're just going to break them up anyway? Whole tomatoes are usually the best tomatoes from a crop. The bruised ones are what is used for diced tomatoes.
I learned a lot about cooking and making it up as I go with this recipe. Such as the tidbit about whole vs. diced tomatoes, the difference between green and red peppers, and why a little sugar is necessary (it cuts the acidity of the tomatoes). There's a science to cooking and baking, and it's been fun learning along the way.
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