Call it Marinara, Gravy, or Red Sauce, this recipe is my go-to-sauce for pasta, meatball sandwiches, or for dipping any kind of Italian-inspired finger food. I will sometimes double or even triple it and can it to store in my pantry for a quick homemade sauce at the ready for months to come. I purposely go light on the salt for the basic sauce recipe and then will adjust the seasoning depending on what is added to it—it’s always easier to add a little more salt at the end, if you think it needs it. I usually put enough grated parmesan on my plate of pasta to more than make up for it, so I prefer not to always have the sauce itself so assertively seasoned. I also often make it a meat sauce by adding a pound of seasoned ground beef or sausage to it (but I never add meat when canning; meat sauce is best preserved by freezing). If you want to use fresh plum tomatoes, remove seeds, skin, and core, then puree the tomatoes and substitute 32 oz of fresh puree for the 28 oz canned puree and 6 oz water below.

Ingredients:

1 can (28oz) tomato puree
6 oz water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 oz dry white wine

Optional Ingredients:
16 oz of ground beef, turkey, or sausage (homemade Hot & Sweet Italian Sausage recipe here)
Chopped fresh herbs, especially basil, oregano, and parsley (chop finely and add them in the last few minutes of cooking or as a garnish on top of your dish)

How I make it:

*Heat olive oil in large sauce pan or dutch oven on medium heat
*If using meat, season then brown meat, remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
*add more olive oil, if needed, then add basil, oregano, pepper flakes, onion, and a pinch of the salt and allow onion to sweat until translucent.
*add garlic and sauté 1 minute
*add wine to the pan and use the spoon to scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan.
*add tomato puree, water, the rest of the salt and cooked meat (if making a meat sauce).
*bring to a bubble while stirring, then reduce to a low simmer for 1-3 hours.
*After one hour, taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, if needed (I usually end up adding about another 1/2 tsp of salt at this point, but I taste it every time to see how much it needs).

The longer the sauce simmers, the deeper the color and more concentrated the flavor. Depending on the amount of time you simmer it and protein you use, different batches will produce different results, but they will all be delicious!

Happy Eating!