Simple Red Pasta Sauce with Variations

This is my tried and true recipe for simple red pasta sauce. I use it for basically everything - long and cut pasta, stuffed pasta, lasagna, chicken parm, etc. I almost always have everything on hand and I have made it so many times I could probably do it in my sleep. As a result, I should probably just get this out of the way up front....if you need precise measurements then you will probably hate this recipe. If you are cool with that it may take you a few tries to totally perfect this sauce for your tastes. But really, that's the beauty! Just about everything can be adjusted "to taste". Love garlic? Add more! Want it spicy? Throw in red pepper! Want to hide veggies from your kids? Shred some carrots! I am always experimenting with new ingredients and some batches are better than others, but it's never turned out bad. I will include some notes in the recipe. And I apologize upfront for the lazy instagram pictures - dinner was running late and I had a two year old "helping". ;)

It's best when you use fresh basil and Italian plum tomatoes, my favorite brand is Tuttorosso. I like the peeled plum shaped tomatoes in basil (in the blue can) but they rarely go on sale so I often use the plain peeled tomatoes (in the green can). I've also used Progresso brand with success. If you use tomatoes and paste without herbs, you may want to adjust your seasonings accordingly.

Lastly, I use a food mill to process the tomatoes to extract only the juice and get rid of the pulp and seeds. You can get a similar result from blending the tomatoes and putting them through a fine sieve. However, if you like chunky sauce, you can also use crushed or diced tomatoes in lieu of the whole tomatoes.

Simple Red Pasta Sauce Recipe

Make enough sauce for 1-1.5 lbs pasta or one saucy lasagna recipe.

(1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil or enough to coat the bottom of your pan.
(1.5 tsp) finely minced garlic
(2) 28-32 oz. cans of peeled plum tomatoes with or without basil
(1) six ounce can of tomato paste with or without Italian herbs (You can use less if you like thinner sauce)
(1) handful fresh basil from your garden or one package from the grocery store, torn into pieces Or (2)  tsp dried basil
(1/2 tsp) oregano (I use fresh if I have it or dried)
(1 tsp) Italian seasoning - optional
(1/2 tsp) ground black pepper
salt to taste

Process tomatoes in a food mill over a bowl. Reserve the juice and discard the pulp. (You can also process them right over the pan once you are comfortable with the recipe.)

Heat olive oil in a 2-3qt saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds until fragrant, watching carefully that it does not brown.

At this point you would add ground meat and cook thoroughly if you are making meat sauce.

Add the reserved tomato juice, paste and spices, except for the salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. If you are adding veggies, go ahead and throw them in now. Simmer with the lid vented for 45 min to an hour.

Add salt to taste and serve over your favorite pasta! Easy!

Variations:

Meat Sauce - add meatballs or brown about a pound of ground beef after adding the garlic and before the tomatoes. You can also double the recipe to make "Sunday Sauce" with meatballs, beef ribs and sausage.
Primavera - add whatever veggies you like or have on hand. Shredded carrots, squash, broccoli, onion, peppers, etc.
Sweeter Sauce - add onions and cook in olive oil until soft before adding garlic. You can also add a tablespoon of table sugar.
Spicy Sauce - add red pepper to taste

And on the second day I made soup.

If you asked me what dish I would choose to be the first blog post, I never would have picked vegetable soup. I had grand intentions of a super impressive baked good. Or if I was feeling really ambitious, perhaps a recipe from The French Laundry. Wishful thinking.

So I must start someday with something - and that day is soup. Even more to the point, leftover roast beef soup.

This soup is the bastard child of Alton Brown's vegetable soup recipe. His is mostly vegetarian but, let's be honest, I'm Greek and my people like their meat. I cooked a roast for dinner last night and used the leftovers to create this soup. The recipe is as follows:

4 tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped leeks, the white part only
2 tbs finely minced garlic
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
2 cups frozen cut green beans
2 quarts of beef broth or stock
2, 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups frozen corn kernels
Leftover roast beef, chopped with reserved drippings
black pepper
kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped, packed parsley (I forgot to buy this).
1 or 2 tsp. lemon juice...this sounds strange but it really adds to the flavor.

Heat the olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed stockpot over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the leeks, garlic, and a pinch of salt and sweat until they begin to soften, approximately 7 to 8 minutes.

Add the carrots, potatoes, and green beans and continue to cook for 4 to 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the tomatoes, corn kernels, chopped roast beef with drippings and pepper.

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the vegetables are fork tender, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the parsley (that I didn't have) and lemon juice. Season, to taste, with kosher salt. Serve immediately.

Elliott and I had two giant bowls. The soup has a ton of flavor but is relatively light and I think the tomatoes add some body to the broth. If you don't like these particular vegetables, just add what you like. I've made this before using onions instead of leeks and egg noodles instead of potatoes. It was equally as delicious.

So with much love.....suck it, Alton. Oh....I don't mean that. He seems so nice.