Maria’s Red Sauce

There’s a lot going on in the mountains this weekend.  The U.S. Snowboarding & Freeskiing Grand Prix is at Park City Mountain Resort.  Slopestyle was yesterday, halfpipe is today and tomorrow, along with concerts, parties, etc.  I managed to squeeze in some time last night to cook a nice meal before we run around town the rest of the weekend.  I made my Mom’s red sauce, and paired it with vegan meatballs (used these mushroom bites) and some pasta (used homemade pasta from the freezer).  I scaled back the recipe to just feed 2 people with a little leftover.  There were a couple small changes to the recipe which are noted below.  Hope you enjoy!  Here are some highlights from slopestyle yesterday:

Joss Christensen wins Freeskiing Slopestyle

Eric Willett wins Snowboarding Slopestyle

Back to the red sauce….

1 1/2 TBS EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1/4 large yellow onion; finely diced

Sprinkle of salt (Mom doesn’t add this)

Sprinkle of pepper

1 heaping tsp Italian Seasoning (Mom uses fresh basil & parsley but I didn’t have any!)

Sprinkle of hot pepper flakes

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 15 ounce cans tomato sauce (Mom uses large cans of crushed tomatoes)

1/2 small carrot, grated on the smallest grate*

*Note, the carrot is added for sweetness to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.  If acidity tends to bother you, you could also sprinkle in some sugar to help.

Heat a sauce pan on medium low with the EVOO, then cook the onions, garlic & spices for several minutes.  Next add the tomato sauce and carrots.

 Simmer your sauce on low for about an hour, then it’s ready to use.  Also, drinking red wine during this process is absolutely necessary… enjoy!

The mushroom bites worked perfectly as meatless meatballs!

The final product, topped with vegan parmesan & red pepper flakes.

“Mangia! Mangia” – My Nonna