Supa Tomato¶
A bastardized version of a red tomato sauce for pasta dishes. Very meat heavy! This is a true comfort sauce and not to be used if you’re skimping calories.
Ingredients¶
olive oil
bay leaf
black pepper
garlic cloves
minced meat
bacon bits
tomato puree
canned tomatoes (sliced)
onion
leek
fennel
bell peppers
any other vegetables you like, carrots go great with this
Preparation¶
Start by cutting up all the vegetables. They need to be diced finely but don’t use a mixer, you won’t learn any knife skills and odds are you’ll end up with a mush. Aim for blocks about 2-3mm on all sides.
Put the sliced vegetables in separate containers depending on if they’re hard or soft not by the touch but by the time they need to cook to be soft, carrots take longer than onions.
Get a large pan ready to cook, the type of pan doesn’t matter all that much but I prefer a dutch oven if you have one. If not any sauce pan will do.
Cooking¶
Put some oil in the pan and wait for it to start glimmering then start adding vegetables. You should start with the hardest vegetables and wait for them to soften up a bit. In this case start with the fennel, then the onions, and leek.
Keep the heat not too high, you don’t want to burn these vegetables you want them to get nice and soft.
When your vegetables are soft add the garlic. Once the garlic has mixed with the oil add in the meats, they can both in together and stir a lot. Add a cover to the pan if you have one and have the meat brown up on low heat. You’re not looking for any caramelization or darkness on the meat bits.
Once the meat is almost ready to go you add in the tomato puree and tomato slices. Make sure you include some of the fluid from the slices can. Stir it all together and add your herbs.
Some pepper, your bay leaf. Stir a few times more and then close off the pot again. Let it all simmer for as long as you can endure but at the very least until most of the liquid has evaporated and a sauce mixture has formed.
Ready to serve with some pasta, don’t forget cheese!
Photos¶
