Freezer 101-2: Red Sauce Joints

Eggplant parm, baked ziti, chicken parm, brasciole, eggplant rollatini, shrimp parm. What do these parms and other Italian American entrées have in common? Not too get all Sesame Street on you, but the glaring “ingredient in common” is our beloved marinara sauce, or more simply “red sauce.”

We all love these dishes. They’re satisfying, they feed a hungry crowd, and the steaming portions urge the inner Italian out of you, and before you can say “baci!” you’re eating with your hands. Take a look through any recipe in the “red sauce joint” category, and marinara sauce is a likely add-in. The recipe will often call for store-bought marinara, but with a few stirs and some good canned tomatoes, your kitchen can be stocked à la nonna for whenever the Italian Stallion in you calls!
The sauce gets simmered over the course of about an hour – the perfect opportunity to pick out your outfit for the next day, chat with a friend, or set the table. Simply ladle it into, around, or over just about anything you can think of, or let it cool and stash it away in your freezer for the parm in your near future. Next time you’re reading over recipes before family night is at your house, you’ll be grateful that homemade marinara is tucked away in your home kitchen, rather than shelved in the supermarket. Believe me, this will make all the difference in your Italian dishes, and will make you the master of your own Red Sauce Joint.

For this post, a special grazie goes out to my sister Julie, whose inner-Italian overrides any Francophilia I might hope to obtain. And to her freezer, which is stocked to a height greater than her five foot frame.

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 yellow onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 dried bay leaves
1 pinch red pepper flakes, if desired
¼ cup red wine
½ cup olive oil
salt and freshly-ground black pepper

-In a large stove-top pot, drop in olive oil and bring up to medium heat.
-Add in onions and garlic and let sauté for about 4 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Drop in carrots and celery and stir with a wooden spoon.
- Once the veggies are softened (about 10 minutes), add in crushed tomatoes. Lower the heat to a simmer, and stir to incorporate veggies and oil with tomatoes.
- Add in red pepper flakes if you like a bit of spice.
- Let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add red wine and let simmer for about half an hour more, or until reduced and thickened.
- Taste for seasoning, and add in salt and pepper.
* To defrost your sauce, place in the fridge overnight and then bring to room temperature when ready to use.