Family Chow Hall

A week of Fabulous Sauces

May 1st, 2006

For something different this week, I am going to give you a week of sauces. Sometimes I am surprised to hear that a friend doesn’t know how to make a basic sauce. Now, I know that you can buy these sauces in the store… they’re cheap… easy… and they even taste good. That doesn’t mean they are good for you, full of natural and healthful ingredients, and it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing to learn to make them from scratch. Besides, when has cheap and easy become a compliment?

So, in the next few days, check back for the following sauce recipes:

For years I would make homemade spaghetti sauce, only to be told by my husband to “Just go buy Ragu!” I couldn’t figure out why it never turned out well. No matter what seasonings, herbs, and other flavorings I used, it always retained that fresh, acidic tomato taste. Now, fresh is usually preferred, but when we’re talking about pasta sauce, canned is the way to go.

It must have been the variety of tomato I was using, or the fact that I didn’t want to cook it down for hours… days… or weeks.

Anyway, I eventually discovered that my garden-fresh tomatoes were not the best thing for making tomato (pasta) sauce. Neither were my canned-at-home tomatoes from the garden. Spaghetti sauce is much better if you buy good old-fashioned tomato paste or sauce and add a can of diced tomatoes. Now I am always happy with my pasta sauce and if I just keep a stock of a few basic ingredients, I can make it at a moment’s notice.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 6 oz. can of tomato paste
1/2 c. water
1 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. rosemary
1 - 2 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 T. light vegetable oil

Mix it up with these possible additions:
dash of red pepper
chopped onions
chopped green pepper
sliced mushrooms
cooked and crumbled bulk sausage
cooked and crumbled bacon
capers
black olives

In a saucepan, combine all of your ingredients. If you have decided to add onions, peppers, or mushrooms, saute them in a skillet with a little oil before adding to the sauce. Whisk it all together and bring to a simmer for about 5 - 10 minutes to get the flavors blended.

Serve over your favorite pasta! I use the same basic sauce for spaghetti, rotini, lasagne, etc.

Entry Filed under: Italian, Recipes, Supper, Table talk