A spaghetti sauce recipe.
Spaghetti sauce can intimidate a lot of people. I know for me, I have this picture of this short, italian lady in the kitchen with a wooden spoon, hovering over the stove all day, adding in a pinch of this and a pinch of that. I picture her with an apron covered in flour from making fresh pasta and as she speaks Italian, she dabs her brow and tosses the kitchen towel over her shoulder as she continues to work feverishly to make the best sauce for herself and her famiglia.
I have this picture in my head because it is what I would see in my grandparents kitchen when they were still alive. I have roots that go deep into southern Italy and memories and recipes alike. I am so thankful for my Italian heritage and the experiences I had with my grandparents in the kitchen.
So, here is one of my recipes for homemade spaghetti sauce. It's flavorful, full of depth, and yes, there is butter.
What?!?!!?!?!!
Butter?
Yes..... butter.
First step is taking the skin off the tomatoes. KEEP READING! You are probably ready to throw in the towel already!
You can follow these few simple steps to remove your tomato skins or, if you don't have the time to do it that way, you can simply buy a 32oz. can of crushed tomatoes. ;)
For starters you will need:
6 large beef steak tomatoes (large ones).
Boil a pot of water.
While your water is coming to a boil, take your tomato and make an "x" on the bottom of it (this is called scoring).
Should look something like this.
Do this to all of your tomatoes.
Once your pot of water is boiling, drop in your toms.
Allow them to boil for 8 minutes or so. You will know they are done once you see the skins loosening up like this.....
Remove the pot and drain the water. Place your tomatoes in a bowl of ice cold water because when you de-skin them, they are gonna be HOT!
Once they are in the cold water bath, the skins will be easy to remove.
Once you have removed the skins, cut out the core of the tomatoes (the end where the brown/green leaf is).
Now, place your skin free tomatoes in a bowl. Take a potato masher and mash away! Crush those suckers!
Now, onto the recipe.
You will need:
6 large tomatoes (skin free & crushed or 1 - 32oz. can of crushed tomatoes)
1 large onion (chopped)
1 celery stick (chopped)
1 large carrot (diced)
3 minced garlic cloves
salt & pepper (to taste)
1/2 cup olive oil
5 basil leaves (sliced)
2 dried bay leaves
1/4 cup sugar
4 tblspns butter
1/4 teaspn sage
1/4 teaspn red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspn italian seasoning
1 small can of tomato paste
First......
Dice your celery, carrots, onions and garlic.
Heat your olive oil in your pot.
Next, drop in your chopped onions and garlic. Make sure your heat is not too high, otherwise your garlic will burn.
Let those saute for 2-3 minutes until translucent.
Next, add your celery and carrots and let those saute for around 6 minutes to soften.
Now, add in your crushed tomatoes. Toss in your salt, pepper, bay leaves, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, italian seasoning, sage, and sugar.
Mix everything together.
Add in your tomato paste (this will help thicken your sauce).
Stir everything again.
Let this simmer on your stove for 1 hour. Make sure to taste along the way to make sure you have added enough seasonings.
This is what you should have when you are done! E bellissimo!
Add in your 4 tblspns of butter at this point. This will add depth to your sauce and it will give it a glossy appearance.
Before you serve, don't forget to remove the 2 bay leaves and discard.
I personally like my sauce a little chunky and thick, but if you like your sauce to be smooth, you can take your sauce and put it in your food processor to break it down more (I would do half at a time and remember it is hot). This would make a smoother sauce.
You should get 4-6 servings
I hope you enjoy this spaghetti sauce! Let me know what you think and cucina felice!!
Ciao!
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