Lisa's Red Pasta Sauce

Posted by artsycook at recipegoldmine.com

Source: Recipe by Lisa Stapor

I used to wake up Sunday mornings to the smell of garlic, onions and this wonderful sauce. My father did a lot of the cooking and this in one recipe that will always bring back memories for me. He got so tired of feeding all of our friends that we would ask over to enjoy this dish, that he said that we couldn't invite anyone else unless it was "pretty serious" we were ready to announce our engagement. You can imagine the looks around the dinner table when my sister Debbie first brought her boyfriend, now her husband, over for "Sunday Dinner."

This dish is such a staple in our family, that you would see some families at our annual family picnic, heating a pan of pasta with sauce on their grills or Hibachi's - instead of hot dogs or hamburgers.

Use this sauce for Eggplant Parmigiana, lasagna or and other dish that requires spaghetti sauce. Put browned meatballs or Italian sausage in to the sauce the last 3 hours of cooking. Put an uncooked chuck roast into it for the last 3 to 4 hours, shred and return to pot for a shredded beef sauce. Add browned ground beef the last 30 minutes for a beef sauce.

3 to 6 cloves garlic, peel and minced
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons light olive oil
4 small cans tomato paste (6 ounce)
2 small cans tomato sauce (8 ounce)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons regular or garlic salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons dry white wine or vermouth
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saut until tender. Add garlic and saute until the onion just BEGINS to turn golden.

Add the paste (and 1 can of water for every can of paste) and the tomato sauce stirring until blended. Add the salt, pepper and sweet basil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer (low boil) for 3 . (Stir about every 15 minutes, scraping off any foam that develops on top.)

Taste and add additional seasoning if needed. Add the wine and sugar. Simmer and additional 2 to 3 hours to desired thickness.

Serve over pasta.