As a “non-Italian”, it took me a while to figure out that the caliber of an Italian woman is measured by the quality of her red sauce, known to us Anglos as “spaghetti sauce.” Growing up in northeast Wisconsin, I knew exactly one Italian person, a guy in my high school. This neck of the woods has always been predominantly Northern European – German, Irish, Polish, Dutch, Belgian, Norwegian, and a little Scandinavian and French thrown in for good measure, along with Native American. As a child, the closest I got to Italian food was a rare can of Chef Boyardee Spaghettios, and on an even rarer occasion my mom “doctored up” can of tomato sauce. Mom never really viewed spaghetti dinner as an actual meal! But as an adult, and now that I’m married to an Italian, I’ve found Italian food in all its many iterations is among my favorite. So like any good pseudo-Italian, I set out to perfect my red sauce.
Italian Controversy
If you talk with Italian cooks, there is a great divide in how it’s supposed to be made – with sugar vs. NO sugar; with herbs vs. plain good tomato sauce no herbs; with vegetables vs. no vegetables; with meat vs. without meat; cook the meat ahead vs. cook it in the sauce – and I’ve seen arguments break out over the “real Italian” way to make it….at least I think they’re arguments. Maybe it’s just Italians talking! Good grief…
I’ll just beg forgiveness from whoever is right and “do it my way”, a way we’ve come to love and that I use for anything asking for a red sauce. I make it in large batches and freeze it. It keeps well, and thaws quickly for a simple throw-together meal. Check out my Italian Grandmom’s Meatballs, a perfect addition for a hearty dinner. Here we go…
An Irish Woman's Red Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 T olive oil enough to coat bottom of pot
- 1 large can petite diced tomatoes
- 2 medium cans tomato sauce
- 6-8 cloves fresh minced garlic
- 1 shallot dice small (onions are a good substitute; I prefer yellow)
- 2-3 T dried basil
- 1-2 T dried oregano
- 3 T dried parsley
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 8-10 cranks on a pepper grinder
Instructions
- n a stock pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté shallots 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add remaining ingredients, reduce to low heat, cover and let simmer 2-3 hours. Taste for additional seasoning to your liking.
Just a couple of notes for you:
- First of all, I do not believe there’s right or wrong way to make a red sauce. It’s all to taste. And frankly, if you try different families’ (or restaurants’) red sauce you’ll find they are all different. Use this recipe as your starting point, and adjust as you like.
- If you’re new to making homemade red sauce, start with a bit less basil and oregano, and remember that dried is always stronger than fresh. If you want more flavor, you can add more once it’s done simmering and you’ve tasted it. It’s a bit harder to cut the flavor after the fact, especially if you don’t have extra tomato product handy!
- I use brown sugar, rather than white sugar, and there are a couple reasons why. First, I think the molasses gives it a bit warmer flavor. If you don’t have brown sugar, white is fine. Second, I think the sugar smooths out the acidity of the tomatoes just a bit.
- On occasion, I add 1 cup of red wine, typically a Cabernet Sauvignon. That brightens the flavor just a bit. If I add wine, I do not add the sugar. The wine is sweet enough. Remember to cook with what you like to drink!
- I don’t cook meat in my sauce. I don’t like the grease left in the sauce. Instead, if I’m doing a meat sauce I brown the hamburger and/or Italian sausage separately, drain the grease and add to the sauce during the 2-3 hour simmer so that both the sauce and the meat share their flavor. Or, if I’m making meatballs I partially cook the meatballs then add to the sauce to finish cooking there.
- Finally, I unfortunately do not can at this point. But I wield a mean freezer bag! I simply ladle sauce into quart-sized freezer bags, carefully lay the bags flat, ease the extra air out, and zip them up tight. I freeze them flat so they don’t take up a lot of room in the freezer.
