At our pool club, Tuesday is Noodle Night. We find that it's a fun excuse to spend the evening at the pool. Earlier this season, Colleen announced that Noodle Night at the pool is a good reason to have noodle night at the dinner table. So, tonight we enjoyed spaghetti with sausage and peppers in homemade tomato sauce.
The sauce recipe (if you can call it that, as I have a habit of improvising based on what's in the pantry) is built upon the one used by my sister-in-law. Erin is a very good cook (and baker) in her own right, but this particular recipe is one she learned from watching her mother-in-law. I don't know where Janet came up with it, but I like to think she learned from watching yet another family member in the kitchen. It's comforting to know that we are connected through the generations by a simple bowl of spaghetti and sauce.
Basic Tomato Sauce
1 or 2 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1 large can diced tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped*
1/4 cup red wine (use a wine you would enjoy drinking with your dinner)
5 baby carrots
1 Tbs. sugar
A few sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Saute onions for a few minutes until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Add remaining ingredients. Let come to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for several hours. Remove thyme sprigs and carrots before using with your favorite recipe.
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Today I had lunch with your father and he pointed me to your blog. Looks great, and the tomato sauce recipe is perfect, especially the use of carrots which I have not seen in any cookbooks. My Swiss grandmother who lived in Italy for over 10 years used to cook her tomato sauce with carrots. She claimed that it reduced the acidity of the tomatos. I use carrots because I saw her do it, but I will never be able to replicate the delicious taste of her sauce. I look forward to future recipes.
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