Easy Peasy Tomato Sauce

     It's hard to believe it's Thanksgiving weekend already!  I have so many things to be thankful for!  My amazing family and friends, who have listened to me vent over the last few weeks as I try to find the balance between school and work.  My roommate, who puts up with me coming home at midnight after a shift at work and rummaging around in the kitchen for a snack.  To my mates at school, who keep me laughing.  To my instructors, for all the little tips and tricks I'm learning.  I am very grateful for all of you!

     And now, as promised, the easiest tomato sauce that you're going to love!

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup carrot, diced 
• 1/2 cup celery, diced 
• 1 large can of whole tomatoes, seeded 
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh basil or oregano
• 1 lb cooked ground beef (optional)

Step 1)  Heat a good sized sauce pan on medium/low heat.  My instructor at school always says "Big job, big pot.  Small job, small pot."  Making sure we have the right equipment for the job.  Once the pan is warm, add the oil and continue heating until the oil is warm, then add the holy trinity of vegetables, the onions, carrots and celery.  Or, in the culinary world, these 3 are known as the Mirepoix, which is in everything!

Step 2)  Sweat the mirepoix for a few minutes, or until the onions become translucent.  Don't let them get any colour on them, you don't want them to brown.  They should could cook lightly in the oil, letting all of the yummy flavours come out.

Step 3)  Add the canned tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper to the pot and bring it all to a simmer.  If you are adding ground beef, you can also add it now.

*If at all possible, try to remove as many of the seeds from the tomatoes as you can.  When cooking tomatoes for long periods of time, the seeds can become bitter, giving your dish an unpleasant taste.  I removed a good portion of them...but its a tricky job.

**You can also used fresh tomatoes in the sauce, cutting them into chunks (and seeding).  They may have to cook down a little longer though, and you might have to add a bit of tomato paste to get the right consistency and tomato flavour.

Step 4)  Once the sauce has come to a simmer, keep it at a simmer on low heat for about 45 mins or so.  This will reduce the sauce and thicken it.  

Step 5)  When the sauce has reached the consistency you like, you're done!  Taste it and adjust the seasoning to your liking and add any fresh herbs.  Basil or oregano would be fantastic in this sauce!  And if you want something a little less chunky, you can puree the sauce in a blender, and then add your herbs.  Just don't puree if you've added the ground beef...that might not come out looking too nice.  I personally like the chunky look of the sauce, it's a little more rustic looking, like Mom's tomato sauce.  

Then, pour the amazing sauce over a bed of your favourite pasta and dinner is served!  Or, you can do what my roommate and I did, we roasted a spaghetti squash while the sauce was cooking.  When it was done, we scraped out the squash and served the sauce on top.  It was delicious!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!  We made this one in school, and I was amazed to learn how simple tomato sauce really is.  I realized I was over complicating things when I made it at home, explaining why I wasn't getting the flavours I wanted all the time.  But, now I know!

Enjoy chomping this one up!

Next up - Salmon en Papillote (I'm making this tonight!)

~Vicki :)