Almost Fresh Spaghetti Sauce

Submitted by Paul in Owens Cross

"Almost fresh because we use some fresh vegetables and some canned. The fresh ripe Roma tomato, green pepper, onion, and garlic give it the wonderful flavor. The canned tomato sauce, puree, and paste give it a thick but smooth consistency. This is an excellent sauce recipe for use with chicken parmesan. In fact, it was created with #141751 in mind."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 11
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 5 large roma tomatoes
• 2 (10 ounce) cans tomato puree
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large garlic cloves
• 1⁄2 medium onion
• 1 large bell pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons basil leaves, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons oregano

directions

1. First of all prepare the vegetables and have them ready before starting the next step. The garlic should be finely chopped (I use an Ulu knife for this). The onion should be corsely chopped (1/4" strips about 1/2" to 3/4" long). The green pepper should be chopped into pieces roughly 1/3" square. Puree the fresh Roma tomatoes in a blender.
2. Almost as important as the fresh vegetables is the sweating of the garlic and onion. Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Put the garlic and onion into the pan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes. Be very careful to watch the temperature. The garlic has a propensity to burn quickly. If the garlic starts to get golden brown, throw out the whole mess and start over. If you don't have ny brown at all then you haven't cooked it enough. If you watch the temperature carefully and stir it constantly this should work fine the first time.
3. Add the green pepper and the Roma tomato puree to the pan and mix thoroughly. Add the cans of tomato sauce and tomato puree, the basil and oregano, and sprinkle in the black pepper. Mix thoroughly, cover, and cook on low to medium heat for 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so. If the sauce is too thick, cut it with another can of tomato puree. If it is too thin then cut it with another can of tomato paste.