Spaghetti sauce

It is a very snowy day here in Colorado. Since we had a heads up about the storm and I knew I had several days in a row off, I decided to make my marinara/spaghetti sauce. This recipe makes about 3 quarts so you will have waaaaayyyy more than you need for one setting. You can freeze it or refrigerate it for awhile. I not sure the shelf life because it disappears pretty fast here in my house.

Outside look of today. Blah.

Here are the ingredients that I start with

4- 28oz cans of whole tomatoes, I use peeled whole plum tomatoes San Marzano style

Celery

Fresh Basil

Fresh herbs which generally consist of Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme, and Parsley

Garlic, I go for simplicity so now that they sell fresh peeled garlic that's been vacuum sealed, that's what I buy

2 to 3 leeks

1 large onion, white, sweet, or yellow whatever your preference

Olive oil 

Red Wine

To start off with I put a bunch of garlic cloves in about two tablespoons of olive oil. I use my largest pot which I think is a 6 quart pot. Cook on a medium heat so you don't scorch your garlic.

While those are sautéing, I start cutting up my leeks. I generally only use the white part because the green ends up having so much grit and dirt. These ones weren't bad so I chopped the whole thing up after a thorough washing. I don't worry too much about the size of the cuts of the onions, leeks, etc. I use a hand blender (one of my new favorite gadgets because it decreases mess and/or the chance for messes which when I'm involved increases exponentially) because none of the boys in the house like chunky sauce so everything gets blended down.

At this point, your garlic should start looking like this. Use as much or as little garlic as you like. In this house we use enough garlic to kill a vampire. I then add the leeks into the mix and allow that to cook down while you cut up the onion.

Notice those pink glasses? Those are my onion cutting goggles. I am the queen of kitchen gadgets and these are one of my favorite things EVER!! I cannot cut an onion without my eyes tearing up and/or swelling so much I cannot see. Which is less than helpful if you are using sharp knives. These came from Sur La Table. Highly recommend if you are super sensitive like me. Swim goggles will work as well but I like being able to put them up on my head to keep my hair out of my face when they are not in use.

I add the onion and the celery to the pot to cook as well. I use two or three stalks of celery.

This is what my mess is starting to look like.

Now I start prepping my herbs while that cooks for about 10 minutes. This time around I used Sage which I never have used before so we'll see how that turns out. In addition to the Sage, I use Marjoram, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, and Bay leaves. Since I'm already making homemade, I use fresh herbs. It might not make that much difference in the flavor profile overall, I just like the thought of all the fresh ingredients in it. Especially since I already feel like I'm cheating with canned tomatoes. Ha.

For the herbs, I use around a 1/4 cup of the sage, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. I strip the leaves off of the stems as much as possible. I use a quarter cup of the parsley as well.

At this point, your pot should be looking like this.

I add the wine at this point to deglaze. I generally end up using whatever is left on my counter. Today it was almost half a bottle of Tempranillo. I use anywhere from 1/4 of a cup to half a bottle and I usually use something that has been open a few days. Not because I think it adds to the flavor, but because I hate to waste wine. Either by cooking with perfectly good drinking wine or throwing out half a bottle of slightly turned wine.

After I stir that around and let it cook another few minutes, probably not strictly necessary, I add the 1/4 of mixed herbs and the 1/4 cup of parsley and stir together.

 Now I open up the four can of tomatoes.

I add them and roughly chop the tomatoes with my wooden spoon. A recipe that I had read said to squish them with your hands before adding them. I did that the first time I made it and it was super messy and ended having to dirty a bowl just for that. Have I mentioned yet that I try to cut down on the things that will make a bigger mess than necessary?

While this cooks I cut up my basil and go do something else around the house for about a half hour. Are these times strictly necessary? Probably not, but since I usually do it that way and the sauce turns out yummy I figure I'll just keep doing it. I only make this on days that I have plenty of time so I can give it the time that I think that it needs.

After the half hour, your sauce should be looking like this.

This is where I add the basil.

Immediately after adding the basil, I use my hand mixer to blend it into a soupy sauce. My boys, husband included, will eat all the vegetables in this as long as they can't see individual vegetables. Eye roll.

Next I add in the bay leaves. Two to three. I've used both dried and fresh and didn't notice much difference. I had found the fresh ones at Sunflower Market and figured "What the heck? I'll try them." There were a ton in the package so I'm still using them. At this point I also add salt to taste. Use whatever salt you like. I'm partial to Kosher or sea salt. Since you will have almost three quarts, you will need more salt then you think. I add a little a time because it's easier to keep adding then it is to take it out. I also add a few teaspoons of red pepper flakes because I like a little bit of a kick to it.

I let it simmer for a couple of hours to blend all the flavors. After it's done, I let it cool and separate it into three containers or so. You can use quart or gallon ziploc bags once it has cooled and throw it in the freezer.  

Hope you all stay warm. This is what it's looking like outside while the house fills with the smells of tomato, basil, and garlic....