Basic Tomato Sauce

My father has been making this tomato sauce for many years. It is simple, tasty and healthy so I thought it would be a perfect recipe to share here! This recipe makes enough for two 16 oz. boxes of spaghetti. It keeps in the fridge for up to one week and in the freezer for 6 months.

Basic Tomato Sauce

To start with:
1 onion, 1/4 inch dice
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (or minced)
3 tablespoons of chopped fresh thyme, or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 - 1 medium carrot, finely grated
2-28oz cans of peeled whole tomatoes and the juice (I like Muir Glen or if you can, imported Italian tomatoes from San Marzano!)
Spaghetti (2 16 oz. boxes to use all the sauce, but if you freeze some you wont use that much pasta) Nutritional yeast (for garnish)

Directions:
Heat a saucepan (3 quart) over medium heat and add the onions. Dry saute them until they're golden brown and soft around 5-8 minutes. If you need to deglaze the pan, add a little water or vegetable broth. Onions sweat quite a bit so the oil is not missed here! Add the garlic and saute for another minute or so, until fragrant. Then add the thyme and grate the carrot directly into the saucepan. You can also grate the carrot ahead of time if it pleases you. Cook for another 5 minutes until the carrot is soft. Add the tomatoes and juice by hand crushing them into the pan (again, you can do this ahead of time if it pleases you). Hand crushing is fun and messy so don't be afraid to get in there! Bring everything to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes until the consistency is thick, much like hot cereal.

When it is all said and done the sauce will keep in the fridge for a week and the freezer for up to 6 months, and makes enough for 2-16oz boxes of pasta. Once you're ready to combine the pasta and sauce, add the pasta, when it is just under al dente, to the sauce - the heat of the sauce will finish the cooking process. Add nutritional yeast and/or fresh basil for garnish.

 The finished sauce prior to freezing:

Freezer Ready!

with spaghetti:

Pasta with a high rise view!

This Rising Moon Organics ravioli was on sale so I picked up a package to finish off the rest of my sauce topped with nutritional yeast and it was delicious!

Delightful with ravioli!

Can't pass up a sale on Rising Moon!