Italian Red Sauce
Traditional red sauce that can be flavored with meat if desired. I usually add sausage and meatballs, or ground turkey/beef. This sauce cooks for a few hours over a low heat to develop the flavors. This sauce as written is for a single batch and will hold around 20-25 meatballs if desired. Double the recipe and use a very large dutch oven if making 40-50 meatballs for a crowd.
Ingredients
- 4-6 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, shredded or diced optional, use for adding a little sweetness
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper optional, use if excluding meat or you want a bit of extra heat
- 1-2 pounds Italian sausage or ground turkey, beef, pork optional. If using sausages chop into 3-4 inch pieces.
- 2 28oz cans crushed or whole peeled tomatoes if using whole tomatoes crush them up
- 1-2 28oz cans water
- 1-2 6oz cans tomato paste
- 2-3 tsp dried basil add more to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1-2 tsp garlic powder add more to taste
- 1 tsp oregano optional
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 handful fresh basil, chopped optional
- splash of wine or tsp of sugar optional, use to balance acidity if no carrot
- grated Pecorino Romano cheese for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil (cover bottom of pan) in large pot with peeled cloves of garlic and crushed red pepper (if using). This step flavors the oil.
- Take the garlic out before it burns and set it aside. You will add this back later.
- Sauté chopped onions and shredded/diced carrot. You now have a choice to make. You can leave the onions and carrot in the pan, or take them out and puree them if you want a smoother sauce. If not pureeing the veggies, leave them in the pan and move on to the next step. *If planning to puree, take out the onions and carrots out and set aside with the garlic.
- If using meat (loose hamburg/turkey/sausage or whole sausage), add it now. Brown the meat. When mostly cooked, chop up your sautéed garlic and add it back in to the meat, onion, and carrot mixture. Saute for just a minute or two, being careful not to burn the garlic. (*If you are planning to puree the veggies, you will add back the garlic later.) Feel free to add salt and pepper, especially if you are using ground meat instead of sausage. Plain ground beef or ground turkey need additional seasoning.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and water. This will cook down a bit over time. I usually do 2 large cans crushed tomato, 2 cans paste, and 1-2 large cans of water.
- *If you pulled out the carrots and onions, combine it with the garlic and a bit of tomato sauce and place in high sided small bowl or mini food processor. Puree all together until smooth with an immersion blender or mini food processor. Add pureed veggies back into the pot of sauce.
- Bring it to full simmer, then reduce heat to a low simmer.
- Now it’s time to add the spices (basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and oregano if desired) and sugar/wine (optional). I add a "round" of all of the spices now, then add another round in about an hour. Keep tasting the sauce as it cooks and concentrates and adjust spices until you get to the flavor profile you prefer. If using fresh basil, add during the last 30 minutes of cooking for the most flavor.
- Add meatballs if desired.
- This needs to cook for a while (a few hours) to get all the flavors to develop. It will cook down and concentrate. Be careful and stir often, especially if you have sausages and/or meatballs in there. You don't want them to burn. Low and slow is the key. Sometimes, I add in a handful of Romano cheese before I serve. Not needed, bit adds a bit of salty goodness. Take out the bay leaf before you serve
Notes
So much if the flavor comes from the meat. I prefer to sauté sausages (chopped 3-4 inch chunks) at the beginning, then add meatballs later. You can find my meatball recipe at happyfood.tech. Let the meat cook for a few hours.
For the large pot in the photo, a doubled this recipe. 4 large cans tomatoes, 2 cans paste.
If it’s too thick, add more water, if it’s too thin, add more paste or cook it down for a longer time.