PRIMAVERA SAUCE

PRIMAVERA SAUCE image

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, depending upon size, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 zucchini, finely chopped
1/2 cup red wine, such as Merlot
3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsely
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 large can whole tomatoes
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried italian seasoning
2 Tablespoons sugar
salt
pepper

Steps:

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepot. Add onion and garlic, cook until the begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Push onions and garlic to sides of the pot, and add red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Allow to toast for about 2 minutes, then add carrots and zucchini. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring often. Meanwhile chop all the parsely and basil (separately), reserving about 1/4 cup of each. Also, pour the whole tomatoes into a large bowl and crush by hand. Add red wine, cook an additonal 2 minutes. Then, add the hand-crushed tomatoes, canned crushed tomatoes, dried oregano, italian seasoning, 1/2 cup of the paresly, and 1/4 cup of the basil. Then add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Allow sauce to simmer on low heat for at least 1 hour. Before serving, remove sauce from heat and add the remaining chopped herbs, and serve over pasta.