Tomato sauce recipe

Two 28 oz tins of crushed or whole San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper, diced very petite
1–2 carrots, diced very petite
1 shallot, diced very petite
4–5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3 heaping tbsp freshly chopped basil
2 heaping tbsp freshly chopped Italian parsley
1 1/2 tbsp fermented calabrian peppers
Sea salt
Olive oil

Optional ingredient: 1.5 — 2 lbs sweet Italian sausage, preferably in casings

I have heard that the best quality tomatoes go into the tins of whole tomatoes because they have to look better. I think crushed are fine but they have to be San Marzano. Don’t go out and buy a couple of tins of Red Golds or Hunts.

Peel the carrot. Dice the carrot, shallot, and green bell pepper until what you have is *small* chunks of your veggies. Set that aside and chop up your basil and parsley so you can add it later.

In the pot that you will cook your sauce, add a couple of tbsp olive oil. Let it get hot and then add your freshly made mirepoix. Sautee that to soften it up, adding a little sea salt to draw out the flavors and then when your shallots are starting to look translucent, clear a spot on the bottom of your pot to add the garlic. Sautee the garlic for 30 seconds to a minute, then stir it into the mirepoix and remove from heat while you read the next paragraph.

At this point you have a choice. If you want a “saucier” sauce, then you will add your softened mirepoix and some or all of the tomatoes to a food processor and make everything liquid. If you are ok with a “chunkier” sauce, then just add the tomatoes to the pot and keep heating. What you do to your sauce’s texture is entirely up to you.

Add basil, parsley, and calabrian peppers. Add about 2 tbsp olive oil. Add about 1 tsp salt. Mix well, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer your sauce for 45 minutes.

If your sauce is *too* thick when you’re ready to serve it, add a little bit of pasta water to thin it out.

Optional bits: boil your sausages, then pan fry them in olive oil to brown the casings. Cut up your sausages into 1" thick chunks and add them to the sauce. Ideally you’ll stew your sausage in the sauce for 30 minutes.

I don’t think this will keep very long so give some out to your neighbors.