This week was hard, right? Working from home AND homeschooling? Out of work and managing a budget? Working in healthcare, delivery, grocery (etc) and still showing up to help everyone make it through this? Whoever you are and whatever you’re dealing with: you’re doing great. Something we initially hoped could pass through in a few weeks is now very obviously here to stay awhile, and we’re all adjusting. Being so close to the “epicenter” over here, we’re pretty much only going outside these days to walk Bernie. (Anyone know how to toilet train a Boston Terrier? … ) I’ll be turning to freezer and pantry meals even more as this goes on, and it’s reassuring to know we are well stocked in that area.

This is a core recipe, and something I keep in the freezer year round. I recommend making a big batch, as big as you can fit in your pot, and freezing it in 2 cup portions for future use. You can spoon it over pasta as-is, doctor it up with pancetta, greens and cheese, or use it as the tomato base in dishes like chicken or eggplant parmesan, baked ziti, stuffed shells, etc. (We just made ziti with it here last week, yummm). Now, full disclosure, this is very much taken from Mario Batali, with just a few very minor changes. I thought it worth sharing here though, because I use it so frequently.

Anytime Tomato Sauce

Recipe by Too Many Spoons

Servings

4

cups

Cost

9

$

Total time

1

hour 

Feel free to make some changes: swap the herbs, let it cook longer, or crush the tomatoes with your hands, then skip the blending. This one is not an exact science, so make it what you want!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 yellow onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

• 1 carrot

• salt and pepper

• 56 oz whole peeled tomatoes (from 2 28 oz cans)

Directions

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepot over medium heat.
• Roughly chop the onion, and crush the garlic cloves.
• Add the onion to the pot, and cook for about 5 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook about 5 minutes more, until starting to brown.
• While the onion is cooking, shred the carrot. Once the onions have started to take on color, add the carrot and thyme to the pot, along with 1/2 tsp salt and a good grind of pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, until the carrot is soft.
• Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high, then turn the heat down to medium-low and keep at a simmer for 30 minutes. About halfway through, break up the tomatoes with a potato masher or the back of a spoon.
• Turn off the heat, and let the sauce cool for 5-10 minutes. Blend it together with a stick blender, until there are no big pieces of tomato or onion, but there is still a little texture. From here you can serve it warm, finish cooling and freeze, or both. 🙂

Recipe Notes

• Adapted from Mario Batali’s “Molto Italiano” cookbook.