My Basic Spaghetti Sauce – Marinara/Red Sauce/Gravy

This is my basic sauce.  I have been making spaghetti sauce for years and this is the version I am currently using.   I use it in eggplant or chicken parmesan, in baked ziti, on top of spaghetti with meatballs, as the sauce for sausage and peppers.  You can sauté a giant pile of greens and then stir some of this though it.  You can put a small amount in a frying pan and crack an egg into it and cook it up.  Pretty much anywhere you might consider using a jar of pasta sauce, you can use this and it’s almost as convenient and tastes a whole lot better.    

This is what I do:

Put a couple glugs of olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat.  When the oil looks shimmery add half a yellow or white onion cook until the onions soften.   If you don’t know when the oil is shimmery use your hand to push the air above the pan toward yourself.  If you can smell the olive oil it is ready. 

Reduce the heat to medium low and add 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper and 3-4 garlic cloves depending on their size and again how you like it.  Stir this around for about 30 seconds it does not take very long and you do not want the garlic to burn. 

Add one 28oz can of whole tomatoes.  If you want to speed the process along you can chop these before adding them to pan.  If I don't want tomato juice all over the cutting board I will pour the juice into the pan and then use my hand to break up the tomotoes right in the can. 

If you have it, add a glug of red wine.  About ½ cup of whatever you have.  Ideally I would use a Chianti Classico or Sangiovese (FYI, same grape) but realistically it’s usually Pinot Noir.  Now, pour yourself a glass too. 

Add 1 tsp of sugar

Stir it all up and leaving the heat on medium-low let cook it for about 30 minutes or so.  You don’t want it to boil, it should be simmering.  It should reduce somewhat but you don’t want the sauce to start drying out. 

Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture to desired chunkiness.  This depends on personal preference and uses.  If you are cooking up some shells or ziti you might want it a little chunkier.  If you are going to use it for pizza you want it very smooth.  I prefer smooth.

Finely chop a large handful of parsley and toss that in.  Add about 12-15 basil leaves torn up or stacked on top of one another and sliced. 

If you are feeling decadent and have some handy add grated parmesan.  About ½-1 cup.  I don’t usually have grated parmesan and am too lazy to grate that much.  I will generally just grate some right over the top when I am done cooking and then add some to the final dish as well.

This makes enough to eat in a couple of meals if you want extra for freezing, double the recipe. 

*if the sauce ends up too dry you can add a little water from the pot of cooked pasta to it, add about half a cup and then cook it all together.  If you have added too much pasta water, continue to cook it as the starch in the pasta water will thicken the sauce back up.