I know I should probably ramble on and on about how making your tomato sauce from scratch is the only way to go, but the truth is, some store bought sauces these days are pretty darn good. To appease the culinary diehards, there is pride and joy to be found in making from scratch, jarring and tasting your own tomato sauce. The reality is, as Chef Dad I don’t always have the time to make sauce from scratch; dinners need to be quick, fresh and tasty. I feel more than comfortable using a prepared tomato sauce as a base and making it my own. It saves time, money, helps avoid messy clean up and is every bit as tasty. Somewhere there is a Nona screaming out loud! :)
My current favourite is the Compliments Roasted Red Pepper and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce. It has a nice balance of sweet, smoky and peppery flavours.
In the culinary world, there are 5 main "mother sauces": Béchamel, Veloute, Espagnole (brown sauce), Hollandaise and Tomato sauce. Each of these mother sauces then has a multitude of "derivative sauces" that are created by adding a new ingredient or two. For example, if I add some grated gruyere and parmesan cheeses along with a little scalded cream and a spot of butter to a Béchamel sauce, I would have just created a Mornay sauce. Here is another: if I were to sauté sliced mushrooms in butter, stirred in julienne cooked ham and tongue, added it to a tomato sauce and brought it to a gentle simmer, I would have created a Milanaise Tomato sauce (not that you would necessarily want to, but you could).
What I add into my tomato sauce generally depends on what time of year it is and what I have in the fridge. Since Fall is upon us and the weather is a little cooler, my sauces tend to be a little heartier. I like adding in lots of sautéed mushrooms, spicy sausage or creating a quick Bolognese sauce by simmering in ground beef, poultry or pork. Another great trick I like to use is swirling in a splash of cream or sour cream. It cuts the sweetness and acidity while adding a touch of richness to the tomato sauce, plus it makes a lighter rose coloured sauce.
One Hot Italian Tomato Sauce
Makes 6 cups of sauce
Prep time: 11 minutes
Total time: 46 minutes
2 tbsp (30 mL) Compliments Pure Olive Oil
1 package 227g Compliments Organic Whole Mini Bella Mushrooms, sliced
1 package (500 g) Compliments Hot Italian Sausages
½ cup (125 mL) Italian red wine
½ cup (125 mL) Compliments Chicken Broth - 30% Less Sodium
1 jar (700 mL) Compliments Roasted Red Pepper and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
¼ cup (63 mL) finely diced fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup (63 mL) fresh basil leaves, torn
1 tsp (5 mL) finely diced lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) of the olive oil in a sauce pot over medium high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, lightly season.
- Add the remaining olive oil and squeeze the meat out of the sausages into the pot, discarding the casings. Stir constantly, breaking up the sausage meat, cooking until well caramelised.
- Deglaze with the red wine, scraping the brown bits of “fond” that have stuck to the bottom and simmer until almost dry. Stir in the chicken broth and tomato sauce; bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to break up the sausage, cooking for 15 minutes. The sausage meat should be fully cooked and the sauce thickened slightly.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix in the fresh herbs, lemon zest and juice. Use as desired or cool completely, store in an airtight container and refrigerate until needed.
Now it’s your turn, take that mother tomato sauce and make some derivatives.
Happy Cooking!
Chef Ryan Skelton
