Slow-cooking Traditional Tomato Sauce

A traditional tomato sauce that takes a bit of time to reach its best flavour.

• Ready In: 1 hr 30 mins
• Yields: 1 jar tomato sauce

Ingredients

• 2 -3  lbs plum tomatoes, cored and cut into pieces (if they're watery, you will want more)
• 1  clove garlic
• 1  stalk celery
• 1  small carrot
• 1⁄4 medium onion
• 1  bunch parsley
• 1  fresh  hot pepper, seeds discarded
•  olive oil
•  salt and pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar
• 1  bunch basil

Directions

1. Begin by mincing the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, red pepper, and parsley.
2. Sauté them in a quarter cup of olive oil.
3. Meanwhile, core and cut up the tomatoes.
4. As soon as the onion has turned translucent, add the tomatoes and a teaspoon or so of salt to the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.
5. Cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes begin to fall apart.
6. Once the tomatoes are cooked, crank the mixture through a food mill, discarding the skins and seeds.
7. You could also puree the sauce in a food processor.
8. If you do, you may want to add a half teaspoon of sugar to counter the tartness of the tomato skins.
9. In either case, check the seasoning and return the sauce to the heat until it has thickened and a drop put on a plate no longer gives off a huge watery halo (depending on how watery the sauce was to begin with, this can take up to an hour).
10. When the sauce is done, stir in the basil leaves and turn off the heat.
11. Transfer the sauce at once to clean jars, sealing each from the air by pouring a thin layer of olive oil over the sauce.
12. Screw the lids onto the jars, and once they have cooled, refrigerate them.