MAKE YOUR OWN PASTA SAUCE

Quick!  You are going to make a basic pasta dish for dinner tonight.  What do you need?

Think about it for a second....

Did the term, "jar or can of pasta sauce" squeeze its way into your list of ingredients?  Why?  Convenience?  Do you know how easy it is to make your own sauce?  It is as simple as tomatoes, tomato paste and your imagination.  And this is not coming from a professional Chef.

Maybe it is a price issue.  A jar or can of sauce is ready to go and cheaper than buying the ingredients, right?  Not exactly.  One jar of standard, simple pasta sauce can cost up to $4 or more.  And you're lucky if you get two servings out of it.  Meanwhile, buying fresh ingredients in bulk might cost a bit more, but you can create a sauce that not only blows anything from a jar or can away, but also yields enough to last several meals and is not filled with preservatives.

Homemade pasta sauce is all about the tomatoes and whatever else you choose to put into it.

A simple homemade pasta sauce does require extra effort and time to make, but the final product is worth it.  AND you can experiment with different ingredients and create your own signature sauce that your friends and family will go crazy for.  You can make that special homemade sauce that has people saying, "If I was on death row, I would want YOUR pasta sauce for my last meal!"

A homemade pasta sauce starts with the tomatoes.  Lots of tomatoes.  Whatever kind you choose.  Chop them up, throw them into a big pot, stir occasionally and watch as they become the base of your sauce.  Add your favorite chopped veggies, spices, red wine....THE SAUCE IS YOUR OYSTER!

Lots of tomatoes, some spice and veggies.  Add meat if you want!

Set a date aside for some homemade pasta sauce-making and experiment.  If you're like me, you will never go back to pre-made in a jar again!  If you're like me, you will soon realize that you have more time than you initially thought to experiment with cooking for REAL.

Effort and hard work are worth it.  You have a food artist locked inside of you that is aching to get out!  You will quickly start to enjoy the process of creating something of your own as you not only create food art, but memories as well.  Those are things you cannot get from a jar.

You cannot get this from a jar!

Check out another "How-to" video from Chef Nairby!  "Make Your Own Pasta Sauce", with special guest, Dr. Hannibal Lecter!  Music by Sergei Gavriliuk.

EASY HOMEMADE PASTA SAUCE

INGREDIENTS -Lots of tomatoes, chopped.  Base how many tomatoes you need on the size of the pot you will be making your pasta sauce in.  Use enough tomatoes that would almost fill the entire pot. -3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped. -2 medium sized cans, or one large can tomato paste. -4 cups of sliced mushrooms. -1/2 cup fresh chopped basil. -2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil.


INSTRUCTIONS 1.  Heat olive oil in your large pot.  Add chopped garlic and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. 2.  Add mushrooms and stir.  Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Mushrooms will give off liquid.  Good! 3.  Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and chopped basil.  Stir.  Cover and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  The tomatoes will turn into a thick sauce over time.  How thick you want your sauce depends on your liking, so use your eyes and nose to determine when sauce is ready.

**If you choose to add more vegetables to your sauce, such as celery, carrots, onion, etc, add them step 2.  If adding meat, such as ground beef, cook the ground beef in a separate pan and add AFTER the tomatoes, tomato paste and basil stage.

Pasta with homemade tomato and mushroom sauce.

Chef Nairby