Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 T. olive oil
1 c. finely chopped onions
1 T. minced garlic
1 28-oz. can Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped but not drained
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 T. dried oregano, crumbled
1 t. dried oregano, crumbled
1 bay leaf
2 t. sugar
1½ t. salt
freshly ground black pepper
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Directions: |
Directions:Using an enameled or stainless-steel sauce pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until a little bit of onion sizzles. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rest of the onion. Cook, stirring frequently, for 7 to 8 minutes until the onions are soft and transparent but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes, stirring constantly (which will keep the garlic from browning and getting bitter).
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the canned tomatoes with their liquid, the tomato paste, oregano, basil, bay leaf, sugar, salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Put the pot back on the heat and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat very low and simmer the sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.
When finished, the sauce will have thickened somewhat and will be a little smoother but still chunky. Remove the bay leaf and taste the sauce for any further seasoning. If you like a much smoother sauce you can puree it with a machine or, as the original recipe says, "rub it through a sieve with the back of a large wooden spoon."
There will be about a quart of sauce which is perfect for one pound of pasta. If you want meat in your sauce you can add ½ to 1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey that has been crumbled and browned first. This can be added early on when you stir in the tomatoes, etc. or after the sauce is finished. This recipe can be easily doubled or even quadrupled, divided into plastic quart containers and frozen. Then you can add meat or meatballs or sausage after you thaw it out. |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: The original recipe for this sauce can be found in "The Cooking of Italy" recipe book that was part of a Time/Life series of books titled "Foods of the World," published and popular in the late 1960's. When I discovered that is was nearly identical to the way my father, Angelo Costa, made his sauce, for which he, of course, had no written recipe, I decided it was a keeper!
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