Nick Martin's Tomato Sauce canonically http://www.nimlabs.org/recipes/tomato-sauce.txt with thanks to: Mom, Yak, and books. -------------------------- makes very approximately 2qt Ingredients: 3x 28oz cans whole peeled tomatoes[1] 1 small can tomato paste (optional) 1 bottle wine[2] 3 medium onions 6 cloves garlic other aromatics to taste extra virgin olive oil to taste salt, pepper, and white sugar basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, bay leaves, etc, to taste [1]: If fresh tomatoes are in season, by all means use them (but peel them first). High quality canned tomatoes are better than low quality (ie out of season) fresh tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes in season are superb, however peeling them is a major pain in the ass. You can omit the peeling and seeding, but I think the texture is better if you take the extra effort. [2]: I like Italian reds. Most flavorful liquids are a reasonable substitute. Recommended Equipment: 6qt pot strainer mixing bowls to taste (a) immersion blender or (b) food processor or (c) willingness to fine dice 8 or 16oz paper cups and plastic wrap for freezing Procedure: - Dice and brown aromatics: (a) dice or (b) process lightly or (c) fine dice the onions and mince the garlic. Sweat in olive oil, until very lightly browned. Add wine (reserving some for the chef) and bring to a simmer. - Prep tomatoes: While frying aromatics, strain and deseed tomatoes. Reserve strained juice, but discard seeds and pulp caught by strainer. If using fresh tomatoes, find some other liquid to substitute for strained juice (other tomato juice, stock, water, more wine, etc). Take deseeded tomatoes and (a) quick coarse dice or (b) process lightly or (c) dice to desired consistency - Combine and simmer: Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and some reserved tomato juice to pot, and bring to a simmer. Add herbs and spices to taste. If you add bay leaves, remember to remove them later. Simmer endlessly (at least 2 hours, preferably more), adding more reserved liquid (wine, tomato juice, stock, water, etc) if sauce thickens past desired consistency. Do not allow over-thickening at any point, or the sauce may end up more separate than desired. Season slowly, tasting often. Quantities of sugar vary _drastically_ by type/brand/season of tomato chosen, as well as what type of wine is used. Most versions will not need any sugar. Taste before, during, and after sugar addition. Do not over-sweeten. - Finish When desired thickness and simmer time are reached, remove from heat and let sit overnight before packaging. [ (a) ONLY: blend to desired consistency ] If freezing, package in individual 8 or 16 oz paper cups and seal with plastic wrap and a rubber band. It fits well in your freezer and is easy to reheat the correct amount of sauce! FAQ: - Holy shit, that sounds like a lot of work! It isn't really. Once you have figured out how to make the procedure work with the implements you want to use, it is quite easy (although it does take a fair bit of time). Cleanup is about 50% of the work. That said, I might recommend you don't make this your first tomato sauce attempt. It is a little more involved than most, and requires you already have some tomato sauce experience. - Can I use canned diced tomatoes? I'd recommend against it. They are typically treated with calcium chloride (check the label), to retain their shape. This is somewhat detrimental to the final texture, which is hopefully smooth and velvety (but by no means totally uniform). - Peel and deseed? Really? Yeah, I think so. It really isn't much effort when using canned tomatoes. If you are already chopping the tomatoes, most of the seeds fall right out. Just spend an extra second per tomato and wipe out the rest. If you are using fresh tomatoes, I admit peeling is significant effort. But man, the sauce is _good_ when you put in the effort to make it just right...