When I was older my parents changed up our food choices, trying to eat healthier and more naturally. My mom started making her own sauce, usually from tomatoes my dad grew in the garden. It was one plant that did really well for us, and I remember in the hey-day growing something like 14 of them just for 'sauce' tomatoes and canning something like 52 quarts of whole peeled tomatoes. I loved seeing all the red glass jars lining the pantry shelf. Food security is a good feeling.
After eating 'pasta and sauce' for sooooo long, when I left home I made it much less frequently. I married an Italian, so it would come up occasionally, but usually I opted for fancier dishes like lasagna or chicken parmesan.
Then we went to visit my husband's extended family in Syracuse, NY. There I met his great-aunt Phoebe, a delightful woman who grew up 'in the old country'. She had a lovely accent and gentle manners and a home adorned with treasured things from over the years. She made everything from scratch still, and treated us to cake at breakfast and a full-spread table at meal-times. An authentic old-school Hostess.
Hubby had bragged to me of her fresh-made sauce and I was interested to see what she put in it and how she made it. What was most surprising to me was the inclusion of carrots. She chopped up onions and garlic, green peppers and mushrooms, and a pound of fresh tomatoes. Herbs and spices and simmered the whole thing for the afternoon. At least I think I remember it that way, I tend to romanticize the past. ;)
The next time I made sauce, I decided to have another go at finding the perfect taste. I included carrots. I didn't use all the other veggies, but I still used onion and garlic and herbs. Sort of a blend from my mother's version with Italian input. And then tweaked to accommodate my family's preferences, such as pureeing everything so as to have a smooth sauce, and straining out the seeds from the tomatoes.
I now have a reliable, intuitive, basic recipe and method that I follow and it is so perfect for me that spaghetti is quickly regaining it's Once-a-week position and I get positively excited to taste it again. I could eat the sauce by the spoonful.
Of course, having sun-ripened, home-grown, home-canned, tomatoes is the most key element in this recipe, but I would imagine that good fresh tomatoes would make a decent substitute, and even canned (with little or no salt) would at least be improved.
Ingredients:
1 qt. canned peeled tomatoes (probably about 10-15 med size fresh)
1 onion, about the size of your fist
4-6 cloves of garlic, depending on your taste. I like more.
1/2 carrot, roughly a little less than the onion
1 T butter or olive oil, as you prefer
2 T dried basil (there are varieties of basil, you want one that smells grassy)
1 T dried oregano
pinch of cayenne red pepper (no seeds!)
1/2 t salt to taste (I like more, but start there, it will depend on your other ingredients)
honey to taste (optional, you shouldn't need if the carrot ratio is right)
Here is my method:
In a large iron skillet I put thinly sliced carrot, and oil or butter and cover. I begin to heat it while I peel the onion and garlic, tossing the garlic in whole -or halved if it's large- and the onion cut into 3-4 slices. Cover and steam-sautee until translucent and quite soft, removing the cover for the last minute or so to allow some wetness to evaporate.
Meanwhile I put the qt. of tomatoes in a blender and puree til smooth. I then pour through a strainer into the sauce pot, usually I have to stir the blend with a spoon a bit to get all the puree through the sieve efficiently. Toss the seeds in the trash. Rinse the blender to remove any remaining seeds.
When the onion mix is cooked, scrape the pan's contents into the blender. Add the basil and oregano, and some or all of the tomato puree to wet things down a bit. Puree until thoroughly smooth, then pour back into the sauce pot, adding it to any remaining tomato puree. Rinse any goodness left into the sauce pan with a little water, but don't use too much as the sauce is naturally a little soupy and more water will mean more cook time.
Once the sauce is heated through, add salt and cayenne to taste. I prefer cayenne to black pepper bc I feel it brings out the natural taste better if used in tiny amounts. You may be surprised at the amount of salt it takes to reach deliciousness but it is worth it. Add it in careful amounts and wait for the magic. Use a drizzle of honey if the sauce still has too much tomato tang to it.
If you want a thicker sauce, you can add canned tomato paste, though I find it compromises the sunny taste of the tomatoes. You could also start a roué with 1 T butter and 1 T flour and add the sauce slowly to that, whisking quickly to break up lumps, in order to thicken it. However, I find that the carrots and veggies thicken it naturally enough if no additional water is added.
I always add hamburger meat to my sauce, but I make it up separate for my picky little ones. I'm always experimenting with flavors for it, but here is the basic version:
All amounts are approx.
1-2 lbs ground beef 80/20
1/2 t onion powder,
1 t granulated roast garlic,
1 T dried parsley,
Salt & cayenne to taste
In addition I also sometimes use small amounts of:
paprika
turmeric
ginger
beef base
chicken broth
bacon fat
The more the merrier, in general. :)
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