Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti sauces can be made quickly, cheaply and unused portions are easily frozen in zip lock bags for future meals. Use the sauce to cover polenta, all forms of pasta and pizza base and if you add a can of beans you have sloppy joes. If you want it meatless all the recipes below, but one, are meatless but with any one of them you can add hamburger, sliced/diced steak, wieners or sausages and it will be just as wonderful.

Spaghetti Sauce #1

It’s important that you use garlic, onion, oregano, salt, and oil. A sauce improves with the addition of basil, a bay leaf, mushrooms, a dash of pepper, thyme, and rosemary, too. A diced or grated potato will thicken it and add a depth to the flavour.
If you have the time, let it reduce to the right thickness by simmering. If you don't have time, strain some of the water when you open the can, or add tomato paste to thicken.

Remove from heat and add salt & pepper. Then add a dash of cream, milk, or sugar--any of those will sweeten the sauce ever-so-slightly...just enough to remove any bitterness. Lastly, sprinkle the sauce with a little chopped basil and/or oregano. Voila

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Spaghetti Sauce #2

1 can diced tomatoes, drained1/4 cup tomato paste1 medium onion2 cloves garlic1/4 cup red wineA dash of crushed red pepperThyme and/or oreganoSautee the onion until it just starts to turn brown. Crush the garlic and add. Stir for a minute. Add the diced tomatoes, the herbs (if they're dried, add fresh herbs at the very end before serving).

Stir until there's no pooling of liquids. Add the wine. Cook two minutes. Add the herbs if you're using fresh. Add a little bell pepper along the way if you like (about 1/2 of a large, roasted and peeled pepper should do it)A fast sauce. It's good and it's simple. Double the paste for a pizza sauce.
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Spaghetti sauce #3

Quarter an onion. Fry it in several tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat. When onions turn clear add tomatoes. Lower heat. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. Now take out the onions. Add salt and pepper to taste, maybe a basil leaf or two (note: basil not traditional).

Serve with pecorino romano. Simple and old, from the Napoli area.Note: this is not a thick sauce (actually, you could use a tomato puree or run your tomatoes through a food mill). The dish relies on the way the olive oil picks up flavor and coats the pasta. Many Italian sauces are quite simple : they need only one or two ingredients to carry the dish.
Pecorino Romano
Description:Pecorino Romano is made from sheep's milk. It is straw-white in colour and has a sharper flavour than the other cheeses listed here. Although it is sometimes referred to as "Locatelli" Locatelli is a brand name of Pecorino Romano. Pecora in Italian means sheep and Pecorino Romano is one of Italy's oldest cheeses. Legend has it that a shepherd filled his flask with sheep's milk before a long trip and the motion during the trip caused the milk to naturally ferment. The idea for a new cheese was born. Today most Pecorino is made in Sardina Italy. With its fine flavor Pecorino's popularity as a grating cheese has grown significantly in the U.S. Since sheep only give milk for 6-7 months a year all production must satisfy the public's demand for the entire year. *********************************************************



Spaghetti Sauce #4

Recently I've been avoiding the garlic, now I normally only use 1 small clove and onions.

Chop onions, 2 cloves of garlic, some carrots, celery mushrooms and sweet green peppers. Sauté those before you add the tomatoes. Olives go great, especially with a spicier sauce. Pepper flakes are great for spicing things up but go easy just a wee little bit of pepper flakes.

Try throwing in some ricotta cheese. Spinach goes well with tomatoes. Also sometimes I throw in some chopped frozen stuff shortly before it’s done. They just need to defrost.
Fresh basil at the very end of every sauce is an excellent addition but add small amounts at first until you discover what intensity of basil taste you most enjoy. It doesn't have to cook. Just chop it not too finely and stir it into the sauce right before you ladle it over the pasta.

Don't forget the grated parmesan. If you really want good pasta and you have a little extra money to indulge yourself with buy a ‘little tiny’ block of real parmesan cheese and grate it over your pasta after it’s on your plate. It makes all the difference in the world....It's amazingly simple and fast to make an excellent red sauce. The recipes above should serve you nicely. You can have a sauce ready in about a half hour if you have everything chopped ahead of time. Remember, your pasta should never wait on the sauce, but it's alright if the sauce has to wait a bit for the pasta. Once the pasta is cooked, it should be served soon. When it's done, toss the pasta with a little olive oil to keep it from forming a sticky, congealed mass.
Hints for using fresh tomatoes
Don't used ‘chopped’ plum tomatoes. Simmer the tomatoes whole at first for around 10mins to let the sugar cook from the flesh of the tomatoes. If you use chopped tomatoes - or if you crush up whole tomatoes too early in the cooking process - you end up with a sauce made bitter by the tomato seeds.

Spaghetti sauce #5
If you want simple, you can leave out the wine. We don’t drink but I keep a bottle of a good red wine in the house just for using in my spaghetti sauces. I don’t think any other ingredient makes a sauces as tasty as the ¼ to ½ cup of wine does. The alcohol cooks off and your left with the incredible taste.

The basics have been covered in the above comments, but just to put it all together here is:Mama Gravy's Red Sauce3 Tb Olive oil1 large yellow onion, diced2 cloves of garlic minced or crushed1/4 red wine1 to 2 TB sugar2 cans whole roma tomatoes1 can crushed tomatoes1 Bay leafRed pepper flakes to tastepinch of fresh ThymeSalt and pepperSauté the onion in the oil on low heat for 10 minutes and then add garlic. Sauté another 2 minutes being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients, including a light salting. Cook slowly, smashing the whole tomatoes as you go. Simmer for an hour or so. Finish with salt to taste.Note: For extra rich, extra thick sauce:After simmering an hour pour into large baking dish, drizzle another 2 TB oil and bake at 325 for another hour or two. This is the best sauce for pizza.


Anniversary Sauce

Okay, now and then it’s time to blow the wad and dig into the wallet to celebrate a special occasion. This has been an interesting combination that, served with garlic bread makes a real treat.

A small carton of whipping cream, some uncooked shrimp, some sliced mushrooms, garlic, parsley, white wine and whatever miscellaneous spices you like (red pepper for instance).Sauté the tomatoes add the cream and all remaining ingredients except the shrimp. Prepare the shrimp and add them last, shrimp require very little time and are cooked when they turn pink. You're done! Instant delicious, quick and easy sauce!