The other day I went to BJs, found some ground pork and veal on sale for $0.80 a pound. Yes, you read that correctly. Naturally, we bought more or less what was left, threw most of it in the freezer, and then opened a bunch of it up and started making tomato sauce.
I thought I’d put this online after seeing enough people ask how to make a basic, delicious tomato sauce. After explaining so many times, I figured I’d just redirect them here.
Now, I like to make this in massive batches of about a gallon, and use it in making everything, or put it on everything for about a week and a half. You can also throw some quarts of this in the freezer so you can have tomato sauce whenever you want/need it. Just throw it in the microwave or in a pan to reheat.
To spare you one of the great life questions of “Where can I even PUT a gallon of pasta sauce?”, I’ll just give you the dinner-for-four version.
This is sauce is not blended, by the way. I for one like the texture of it, but there are a lot of crazy people out there.
Two 14oz (standard size) cans of diced tomato
1/2 a can (3oz) of tomato paste
Half an onion, diced
Your desired amount of garlic (how about three or four decent sized cloves?)
Basil, Oregano, Thyme, and any other dried (or fresh!) herbs you see fit/have around the house (this is a to-taste thing)
an undisclosed amount of butter
SALT
(Extras: these are optional but ALWAYS make the sauce better. Use in any combination.)
1/2 pound of sausage
1 pound of mushrooms
1/2 pound of high quality ground meat
a cup or so of red wine (add this in after the meat and deglaze with it/just before the tomatoes.)
Fresh Parmesan (for garnishing)
0. Gather all your ingredients. Dice/chop as needed.
1. Get your pan to a medium heat, pour in a half-tablespoon of oil.
2. Cook the onion until it starts to look translucent.
3. Add your garlic to the pan, cook it for about 60 seconds.
4. If you have any meat, add it in now. Don’t just cook it, put some color on it! The Maillard reaction is your friend!
5. Any mushrooms? Add then after the meat is browned, cook them until they’re half the size they were when you put them in. You want them in now because then they soak up the juices the meat released. Mushrooms are flavor sponges.
6. Add the tomato, mix everything together, let it simmer for five or so minutes. Make sure you get any of the good stuff off the bottom of the pan from when you browned the meat, but with a wooden spoon or something that won’t scratch your pan if it’s non-stick.
7. Add in the herbs of your desire now. I can’t really tell you specific amounts, because different herbs have different potency. This requires some experimenting. Start with a little (a tablespoon) and stop when you think the aroma of each herb is represented.
8. Simmer for another five minutes, and then add in the tomato paste. This will thicken your sauce up. If you were worried about it not being a sauce consistency before, it certainly will be now. If you’re now worried it’s too thick, worry not and read on.
10. Now for the most important part! Salt! Start with a little (half a tablespoon) and don’t stop until it’s delicious. For a batch about this size, that’s probably about two tablespoons or so.
11. Now, add in the butter! As much as you like, but a tablespoon or two is most sensible. This will make your sauce slightly less thick, and will slightly negate the salt you added. Taste it and see if you think you should add a little more salt.
12. Looks like I missed a number, there. That, or seven eight nine. Pour this over some pasta, use it to make pizza, chicken Parmesan, dip your grilled cheese in it, crockpot some meatballs in it, eat it straight! It’s good stuff.
I’ll probably follow this up with a bunch of recipes that you can use this sauce with. Until then, I guess you’ll just have to eat it straight.
OnePot||OnePan 