One of my most favorite recipes is for a basic Tomato Speghetti Sauce. Yes, we call it SAUCE not Gravy in our house. I will go into that great debate some other time. So here is the recipe that was handed down to me from my mother and grandmother.
Get the Recipe in pdf format here > Basic Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients:
1 large can each, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and puree tomatoes.
1 small can tomato paste
1 medium onion chopped
4 wedges of garlic chopped
4 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, and Bay leaves to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Put the 4 tbsp. of olive oil in a stock pot and heat on medium for a few minutes. When hot add the onion and garlic and stir and watch until it turns golden brown. Once it gets brown turn off the heat and take the pot off of the burner.
Add the large cans of tomatoes, Crushed, Sauce and Puree. Fill 1 can half way with water, swish it around to get all the tomatoes out of the can, and then dump it into the next can. Do the same with the next can and dump it into the 3rd can. Swish around the 3rd can and then dump it in the pot.
Put the stock pot back on the burner, on medium heat, cover. When the tomatoes begin to come to a light boil add the 2 tbsp. sugar.
Now flavoring is up to you! I usually put about a table spoon each, Oregano, Basil, Rosemary and 1 crushed up bay leave into the pot, then about a tsp of salt and pepper. But depending on your taste, you may want to use more or less of the herbs. Fresh are always best but in the winter I use dried also.
Cook on low heat for about 2.5 hours, covered and stir every 20 minutes or so. At 2.5 hours, add the small can of tomato paste and stir till it dissolves. Then cook for another hour, stirring once in a while.
Then there you go, your basic Pasta Sauce is finished.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 24
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 66.0
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 321.8 mg
Total Carbs: 9.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
Protein: 2.4 g