Amazing Tomato Sauce
Yesterday I posted a recipe for Eggplant Parmigiana by Chef Mark Vogel that would be served with a quick, homemade tomato sauce. Here is Mark’s personal favorite quick and easy tomato sauce that works with his eggplant Parmesan but as a base for lots of recipes.
We all have our favorite formulas for making “gravy” and I would love to hear about how you make yours but this is a good one to start with if you are just learning how to cook.
Feel free to make additions and/or substitutions to adjust the flavor to your own preference. I have one of my favorites from my friend Chef Ricco DeLuca at Basic Tomato Sauce. I also wrote a post about a few celebrity chef’s favorite tomato sauces and how they differ slightly.
Simple Tomato Sauce Recipe
Servings: 4 cups
Ingredients
- 36 ounce can whole plum tomatoes
- 1 carrot small dice
- 1 celery stick small dice
- 1 small onion diced
- olive oil as needed
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 4 ounces red or white wine
- 8 ounces beef stock
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Split open each tomato over the strainer and remove the seeds, as they can add a bitterness to the sauce.
- Place the seeded tomatoes in another bowl. Reserve both the juice in the first bowl from seeding the tomatoes and the juice left in the can.
- Sweat the carrot, celery and onion in olive oil with some salt and pepper on low/medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce until it reaches a syrupy consistency.
- Add all of the reserved tomato juices and the stock. Bring to a simmer and reduce by at least half. A little more won't hurt.
- Add the reserved tomatoes and cook only 5-10 minutes on low heat. With an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth.
- Finish with the parsley and additional salt and pepper if needed.
Made sauce by this recipe yesterday… wonderful results! Tonight, it’s Eggplant Parmigiana!