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InvisibleShroomismM
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Grandma's Italian red sauce
    #21741772 - 05/30/15 04:48 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Been meaning to post this for a bit.

So this is like one of the only things I cook well.. it's my Italian grandma's recipe who was like the bestest cook ever and I'm not just saying that
She is from Northern Italy (Genoa) and cooking is her biggest passion in life, this is one of the only recipes I know from her. 
It's not exact to the way grandma made it, as most is by memory and I have adopted a few things over time.. but this is how I do it.
It's fucking bomb. This is about as authentic as it gets.

Use the highest quality ingredients

2lbs of San Marzano tomatoes peeled (plum tomatoes can be used if you absolutely HAVE to and cannot find san marzanos.. but seriously it HAS to be San Marzano tomatoes or it's just not the same).
3 glugs of cold pressed olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
8-10 cloves of garlic, minced in various sizes from super tiny to chunky chunky
1 yellow onion diced
1 celery diced
1 carrot, cut into chunks
bunch of minced parsley
can of tomato paste
handful of chopped basil
teaspoon of oregano
quality red wine (something you would want to drink)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
salt and pepper
1/4 cup parmesano reggiano cheese

Start with the tomatoes. I peel and run through the blender, if you want a smooth sauce puree them completely or if you want a little chunkiness then just run them through for a few seconds. Or if you want it rustic chunky style just coarsely chop the tomatoes up. They will break down anyway over time in the sauce, it just depends how chunky you want it. Leave separate in a bowl.
You can get canned San Marzano tomatoes at most places if you can't find fresh ones. For this recipe I guess that's about 4 cans. They are about 2x more expensive than other tomatoes but trust me... San Marzanos are the only way with this sauce. It's just NOT the same sauce with any other tomato. They provide a richness and depth to the sauce that you simply cannot recreate with any other tomato. 

Then to a large saucepan add a very generous amount of olive oil AND butter, over medium high heat..
- add garlic and brown lightly
- then add your onion, carrot, celery, oregano and saute over medium-high for about 10 minutes or until the onions are caremelized,
- add in the tomato paste and mix thoroughly, stirring frequently and let it cook for about 3-4 minutes or until it starts to darken/caremelize. add in a few splashes of red wine to provide some liquid and prevent from burning. It should be a pasty consistency.. not too thick.. not too thin.
- Once this mix is a nice copper color go ahead and add all your tomatoes - then your parsley, salt and pepper to taste, sugar and red wine vinegar.
- Here you can also add a tiny bit of fish sauce if desired (completely optional), it adds an additional depth and richness to the sauce. Can also add some crushed red peppers if you want.
- Add a few more splashes of red wine for fluid!

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for at least 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. The longer the better. I usually let it cook for about 3-4 hours for best results. This is one of those all day sauces.. When my grandma made it she would start it in the early AM and let it cook all day long. When finished, add chopped basil and parmesano reggiano.

This makes a perfect red sauce for any of your pasta adventures

Bonus... meatballs:

1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup parmesan
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 cup italian breadcrumbs
1/2 cup water

combine everything in a bowl. Mix that shit with your hands. form into balls whatever size you want.
get a large skillet and add about 1/3 cup olive oil, over medium-high heat add your meatballs and cook them, turning them occasionally to make sure they brown evenly on all sides, takes about 5-6 minutes to cook. When finished, put on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

You can serve the meatballs separately, but in the sauce it's even better.
If using meatballs, I like to add the meatballs to the red sauce about halfway through cooking. Give them an hour or two to soak up all that goodness and meatballify the sauce :drooling:
Once again, the longer you simmer the sauce, the better. Low and slow.

I think the great thing about this sauce is that it's so versatile.. it doesn't have to be perfect.. you can experiment with different things and different ingredients. Different people have different ways of making it. As long as the core things are all there... there's a lot of room for adjustment. I also don't use measurements... I do everything by eye like grandma taught me.


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OfflinegeokillsA
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Re: Grandma's Italian red sauce [Re: Shroomism]
    #21741949 - 05/30/15 05:44 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Love it. Can't wait to try it. Can't get enough of a good red sauce. :yesnod:

A group of friends are heading over to Italy next week, I was a li'l jealous, but you've helped me feel a bit better by inspiring me to conjure up a li'l piece of Italy in me own kitchen!

I notice you noted to add oregano along with your mirepoix early on, and again when you add the tomatoes.  Did you mean to note two separate additions for this totally awesome herb?


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InvisibleShroomismM
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Re: Grandma's Italian red sauce [Re: geokills]
    #21742231 - 05/30/15 06:57 PM (8 years, 7 months ago)

Woops that was a mistake.. I only add the oregano in the beginning, with the onions and veggies.. gets them nice and fragrant. Edited the post to reflect
Although, you could probably add it after you add the tomatoes along with all the other spices.. I've just always done it that way. I dunno if one way is better or not

And right on... I'm jealous too. Italy is near the top of my places to visit. I hear the food is unreal. I'll be there oneday. And gotta knock out Switzerland, Germany, Spain and a few other places too.

I don't consider myself much of a chef, my girl does most of the cooking in our house.. but when it comes to pasta I only accept perfection :pirate: So I make the red sauce

now to have the perfect pasta.. combine with some home made pasta :aweoverdose:

or better yet have this guy make you some


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