Sundays are typically used to prep for the rest of the week in our household. No, I am not packing my lunch from Monday-Wednesday, but instead I am preparing my fridge to have options as the new week begins. Typically I’ll take an inventory of what vegetables we have ( I usually do grocery shopping Saturday morning), what meat is in the freezer and start to imagine what can be made.

Two things are typically prepared on a Sunday, tomato sauce (we call it sugo in italian) and salad. These are two items that can be prepared and placed in the refrigerator ready to be used. I have the tomato sauce simmering over the stove while I cut, wash and spin my lettuce.

Being Italian, tomato sauce is the backbone of many of our dishes, alongside with our olive oil. It’s something that is usually readily available in the event we want to make a quick pasta dish, or infuse it in other dishes like minestrone, spezzatino, polenta, etc.

The other day my sister in law was talking to her children in that it was going to be a super busy work week and that she had to prepare her sauce in time to make quick easy meals when she comes home late.

That’s the beauty about tomato sauce, it’s not meant to be complicated. You don’t need many ingredients to make it delicious, all it needs is some good seasoning. Now you can have it simmer with meat, with herbs, with vegetables, that is up to you! This recipe that I am sharing with you works well with the sauce we prepare in August. When we harvest our tomatoes we don’t add anything, but salt to our mixture. We leave the seasoning for when we actually cook it. I find it that when done this way, you get a lot more of the tomato flavour and not of the other stuff you put in.

Now if you don’t have a cellar full of sauce like I do, then I would recommend getting a good quality jar of tomato sauce at your local grocer. I would avoid ones that are already flavoured and leave that for you to do.If there is a lower sodium option, then that might also be a better choice.

 

Sugo Sunday Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 jar of tomato sauce (750 ml-1 litre)
• 1 carrot peeled and cut into smaller pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into quarters.
• half a white onion
• salt and pepper for taste
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Directions:

1. In a high speed blender, add the sauce, carrot, pepper and onions. Blend until smooth.
2. Once sauce is at the right consistency, place in a medium size pot on medium high. I like to use my cast iron put because it locks in the heat so evenly.
3. Once the sauce begins to boil, add the salt and pepper and olive oil and stir.
4. Let it summer, partially covered for about 40 minutes.
5. If you plan to use it right away you can set it aside. if you are planning to use it during the week, you can actually place it in a glass jar while it is still hot and it will seal itself over the stove.

 

Enjoy!
Antonietta xo