Tomato Based Sauces

We use tomato sauce for a number of dishes: pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, eggplant Parmesan, ravioli, and a wide variety of meats and soups.

In busy times, we usually get it from a jar. The stuff in the jar is all right, but it is possible to cook up something more interesting and more delicious if we use some of our spare minutes to do a slow version of a tomato based sauce at home. One of the great things about creating your own sauce is that you can experiment and another is that you can use up whatever is around. Tomato sauce can be too tomato-y; If you make your own, you can include some balancing flavors and get a sauce that has a little more depth and complexity.

You can use the oven, the stove top or a slow cooker to roast the ingredients. Pieces do not have to be very small since you will be blending the sauce after cooking.

Tomatoes - These can be cooked, fresh, or canned. They could theoretically be dried, but those are generally too expensive for this kind of quantity. Two or three cups will be about right.

Other Vegetables - Bell pepper, squash, carrots, potatoes, celery, parsnips, turnips
You can use an equal amount of other vegetable pieces as you do tomato, but exact quantities are not at all crucial.

Flavor and flavor enhancers - Garlic, onion, leeks, fish sauce, anchovy paste, nutritional yeast, wine, vodka, bay leaves (remove before blending)

Sweeteners - Honey, jams, jellies, sugar, maple syrup
A couple of tablespoons

Spices - Oregano, basil, thyme, celery powder, coriander

Fats and oils - olive oil, sour cream, mascarpone, creme fraische

1. Put the tomatoes, vegetables, and flavor enhancers into a large kettle, cover, put in the oven or on the stove on a medium low heat. Cook these things for 2 or 3 hours.

 2. When all of the vegetables are soft, remove the bay leaves, cool for 30 minutes or more, and mix with a hand blender.

3.Add oils, spices, and sweeteners and stir. Taste, adjust and stir until you like the result.

Other options:

If you make a big batch, you can always pour some into a zippered plastic bag and freeze for later use.

Or you can add some broth or milk, a little cooked rice or corn and make a delicious tomato soup.

Do not spend the last half of your life trying to recapture the first half. Instead, stretch and grow and do bold things, question what you've been taught and generally alarm people with your broadmindedness.

Philip Gulley (adapted)