Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 4 to 6 basil leaves
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
Directions
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
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By floridadee
Northeast Florida
on January 15, 2012
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This sauce is wonderful. It is my "go to" sauce recipe.
By lorivanh
on January 13, 2012
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If you could give a recipe 0 stars I would. This was absulutely the worst sauce I ever made. I posted a negative comment the first time I made it, but decided to give it another try. The sauce has little flavor and even with the regular sized carrots - the sauce was still orange in color.
By soeil
Montreal, CA
on September 26, 2011
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Hands down, my favorite tomato sauce to make and to eat! My mom loves it so much that I now make it in bulk so that I can give her a pint!
Side Notes:
I don't like sugary tomato sauces and I really can't stand bitter sauces. The butter trick fixed both issues whilst making the sauce ever so slightly creamier. I use a lot more butter than the recipe calls for, but I come from a family that appreciates butter.
Freezes beautifully.
An excellent present for a friend or college student. I make a little care package with the sauce, a package of pasta, parm and a quick bread mix.
Read all 94 reviews