Ask Lemmy

Here’s a 100 year old past sauce recipe that a good friend of mine shared on Reddit long ago. I’m happy to port it over to Lemmy for all of you even though it’s kind of off-topic in this thread: here goes

Tomato Sauce - Adam P.

100 Year Old Fabrizio Family recipe. Current iteration by my friend.

Okay. Go get:

4 - 28oz cans crushed tomatoes

1 - 6oz can tomato paste

1 small/medium brown onion

1 head garlic

olive oil

red wine

salt & pepper

crushed red pepper

dry herbs (thyme, basil, parsley)

dry bay leaves

Okay? So...

Get your biggest pot. Pour in enough olive oil to fully cover the bottom, maybe 1/8" to 1/4" deep. Not too much or it will pool in the sauce later. Put the heat on medium-low. Do not burn the olive oil. If it smokes, turn it down.

Chop the onion and add to the pot. Stir and then let them sweat until they are properly translucent. While that is happening, chop two or three garlic cloves. Throw out the green shoot in the middle. This is a non-digestible "germ" (as in "wheat germ") and only causes heartburn and bad breath. Pitch it. Now put the chopped garlic in the pot and reduce the heat to low. Do not burn the garlic. If it browns (more than a little bit), start over. Sweat the garlic just like the onions.

Now it's tomato time. First, mix the tomato paste into the onion/garlic/oil mixture. This makes it easier to soften up and mix into the full sauce. Now, pour all four cans of crushed tomatoes into the pot and stir until everything is fully mixed together. Look for clumps of tomato paste and try and work them into the sauce. Add one healthy glass of red wine (Chianti, Zinfandel, Cabernet, etc.), then drink the rest yourself!

We're getting there!

Salt: about a whole tablespoon. Be brave. Mix it in.

Now, the herbs. Dealer's choice here. I usually do two or three pinches of each...so roughly a teaspoon. Notice oregano is not in this recipe. You will not miss it, I assure you. Go ahead and add one or two pinches of crushed red pepper, but you can always add more to the food. Don't get crazy. It does affect flavor as well as heat, so...

Black pepper: I only use pepper mills, so crank away at that until satisfied. I go heavy, but I love the stuff. Use your discretion.

Now add two or three whole bay leaves. You will be fishing these out later. They are not Good Eats.

Bring the heat back up to medium-low and simmer that pot for two hours. I don't want to see a full boil. Stir regularly, especially the bottom. We don't want anything burning or sticking to the bottom. If you need to turn it down, please do so. You can simmer this all damn day if you are so inclined, but two hours is really enough. Dig out the bay leaves before serving. You can jar this hot and freeze it, and it lasts practically forever in the freezer and fridge.

You are now the proud owner of a 100 year-old recipe from Penne, Abruzzo, Italy handed down through generations of Italian-Americans. I want my last meal on earth to be swimming in this sauce. (Wanna know how to make a mean lasagna ricotta filling? For starters, never ever use meat in lasagna.)