Z.'s Red Sauce

Red sauce, marinara, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce...whatever you call it, the homemade stuff is easy and delicious. Does anyone else call it spaghetti sauce? My family always has. Why would we eat anything but spaghetti? Whenever we mixed all the pasta (and we did not call it pasta, they were noodles) and sauce together before serving, like one of my grandma's liked to do, we called it goulash. We were in the middle of Wyoming after all; we had no idea.

Since Z. hates tomatoes, he had never tried tomato sauce until a year or so ago. I had accumulated a few jars of marinara sauce due to some expert couponing. Z. was willing to try a taste of pasta and tomato sauce. He loved it! After going through our stock, we decided to try making it ourselves. I will admit, I have actually only made our red sauce once...the first time. The rest of the time, I have been Z.'s assistant. Turns out, he makes an awesome red sauce!

We like ours rather chunky, so we use a whole onion, diced rather finely. The trick here, is to let the onions get some color on them. The other important note is to let the sauce gently simmer for some time. If we wanted to have red sauce ready right away, we would omit the water. The little bit of water we add lets the sauce simmer for as long as we like without evaporating away. Another tip...DO NOT SKIMP ON THE OLIVE OIL. Use a little more than you would than normal while sauteing the onions or add a little drizzle before serving. Enjoy!

P.S. This freezes great. Our preferred freezing mode for everything is to place it in a freezer bag, get out as much air as possible, and place it in the freezer as flat as possible. To thaw, I run some hot water over the bag and once the contents are pliable enough, I place them in a small pan on the stove to heat up.

Z.'s red sauce gently simmering away

Hillshire Farms sausage links that have been sliced and are browning for pasta with red sauce!

Z.'s Red Sauce, serves 2-3

2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic (more or less according to taste), minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
kosher salt and black pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low. Add onions and sugar. Allow to cook until soft and beginning to caramelize, stirring occasionally, about 25-30 minutes.
2. Add garlic and a little more olive oil if needed. Season with black pepper and chili flakes. Cook until garlic is soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Lower heat to medium-low if it is not already set there. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and season with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning. Let gently simmer for 20-25 minutes. Before serving, taste and adjust salt if necessary.

Variations:

• Ground meat seems pretty traditional. Sauteed chicken breast is also tasty with pasta and red sauce.
• We like to slice sausage links - like kielbasa - and brown it and serve it with our pasta and red sauce.
• Add 1/2 diced bell pepper, any color, to add some vegetables and delicious flavor.
• Beans are a great addition. Kidney beans when allowed to simmer in the sauce for a few minutes, turn surprisingly silky. I had red sauce with kidney beans over leftover polenta loaf. See!