Pasta Sauce

There are no pictures with this recipe because the last time I actually needed to make this sauce was before I created this blog. However, since I shared my recent Crockpot Lasagna recipe, I decided to share my sauce recipe for those who wanted to make this with fresh sauce.

This is an all day recipe, so you need to be prepared to make this in advance. I usually make a very large batch and then can them so I have enough to last a couple of months.

Anyway, on to the recipe.

INGRDIENTS

5 Lg Tomatoes (I used beefsteak tomatoes. I will explain why soon)
10-15 Roma Tomatoes (They vary in size, the larger the tomato the less you need)
Fresh Basil, Thyme, Oregano, and 1 Bay leaf
1 Onion, chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, minced
3 Carrots chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper chopped
1/4 C Burgundy Wine
2 Stalks Celery
2 Tbs EVOO
3 Tbs tomato paste


DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Boil your tomatoes for about 1 minute. Not enough to fully cook, but enough to break the skin. Remove from the boiling water and plunge the tomatoes in the ice water to halt the cooking process.

When your tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin. Place the 5 beefsteak tomatoes and 5-8 Roma tomatoes into a blender or food processor and puree.

With the remaining Roma tomatoes, chop them and set them aside.

Remove the leaves of the basil, oregano, and thyme from the stems and finely chop them. 

Heat your EVOO in a large pan. Add the onion, carrots, and peppers and cook until they soften. Add your garlic and cook for another minute until it is fragrant.

Move your sofrened vegetables to the crock pot and add the dices tomatoes, sauce, herbs, and wine. Add your whole bay leaf and whole celery stalks.

Start your slow cooker on high for about 2 hours, until the is a nice bubble going, add the tomato paste, and then drop it down to low for another 4 hours. Stir your sauce occasionally to prevent sticking and burning.

Oil will likely form at the top of your sauce. Remove as much of this as you can to keep the sauce thick.

At the end of your cooking time remove the bay leaf and the celery.

 ***Now my husband is not a soft vegetable eater. He hates cooked vegetables. So at this point I take a hand blender and puree the entire pot of sauce. He knows there are vegetables in there, but if he cant get the texture of them, he really doesn't care. If you have issues with kids (or spouses) who dislike vegetables, you can puree your sauce before serving it.***

You can serve this with pasta, use it in lasagna, when I'm feeling especially lazy I even use it in chili lol. You can can or freeze the extra. It will only last a few days in the fridge, so whatever you do with it I suggest it is stored within 3 days to prevent molding.

Anyway, I hope you love this sauce as much as we do. Happy Eating!