lizzycooks Red Sauce con Vino Rosso

Variety is the spice of life, so they say. Tomato-based red sauces are like that too. After combining the mandatory base of garlic, onion, tomato sauce and paste, a lot of variety is possible. Some people add meat to their sauce and some don't. Some people add veggies to their sauce beyond the garlic and onion, for example: squash, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, and tomatoes. In the summer, it's a real treat to add garden-fresh herbs and veggies to the sauce. This red sauce recipe is meatless and my preference is for a smoother sauce. It's got a tiny kick from the crushed red pepper. Add more if you want more kick. The wine gives this sauce flavor and beautiful color.

I'm excited about a new ingredient in this recipe and am never making red sauce without it again--fennel seed. It was off my radar screen until a friend pointed out it was missing from my red sauce recipe. He also mentioned that the sauce could benefit from wine and crushed tomatoes instead of fresh. These were quality suggestions, so I put this recipe together and dedicated it to my fennel seed-suggesting friend. I did a little reading and made a couple of batches of red sauce with this magical fennel seed. Before adding it to the sauce, use the back of a spoon to crush it up on a small plate to release the flavors. The fennel seed gives the red sauce a lovely, earthy, sweet-ish flavor that's hard to describe, and the house smells wonderful.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6-16 large cloves garlic, minced 
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped fine

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 cup dry, red wine 

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons Kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons fennel seed, crushed 

2 teaspoons fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 bay leaf

Heat a 4-quart sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it heat up for a minute or two. You want the garlic and onion to sizzle when you add them to the pan. Add the garlic and onion and stir until the onions become transparent, about 5 minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn--easy to do. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Stir until everything is well blended. 

Turn the heat to low and cover the pan. Continue to simmer the sauce for another couple of hours (or more), so that it cooks down. Check on the sauce here and there and stir it. Remove the bay leaf when the sauce is finito. Serve this amazing red sauce over lasagna, spaghetti, manicotti, eggplant parmesan, or some of your favorite dishes. 

First lizzycooks video in a post!

-Dedicated to KF with gratitude