Genovese Sauce - Channeling My Grandmother.

My mothers parents were both Italian Emigrants.  Or more correctly my Grandfather was Italian my Grandmother was Sicilian.  My grandmother was quite young when she married my grandfather.  She had to learn to cook and keep house very quickly.  To her credit she not only learned but was an outstanding cook, seamstress and mother to her five children and what would be a small army of grandchildren.  I did some work in the Rio Grande Valley several years ago and came across a number of people who still remembered her cooking even though she has been gone for forty years.

She died when I was thirteen but one of the things she taught me to make is still my favorite today.  It is also the basis for a large number of my recipes.  Unfortunately, she did not teach me how to make her lemon pie and Pam will tell you I try it every time I find it and I have never come close to the pie she made. Nor did I pay enough attention when she tried to teach me how to make her rolls.

But on with my recipe.  The key to many great Italian dishes is the sauce.  This is for a red sauce.  Many would call it Marinara.  However, I learned several years ago it is more like a sauce that is in Italy called a Genovese Sauce.

Basic Sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 can tomato puree
1 can diced tomatos
1 can stewed tomatos
Combine all in a large pot with about three table spoons of olive oil.
Here is where I deviate from the recipe a bit.  My grandmother would add three cans (tomato paste can) of water.  I add 1 can of water and a can of spicy V8 Juice
1 tea spoon of Powdered Garlic
1/2 small onion diced very finely
1 table spoon of Italian Seasoning
1 table spoon of sugar
1 table spoon of Parmesan Cheese
2 table spoons of Parsley
1 tea spoon of garlic salt
1 tea spoon of salt
1/2 tea spoon of pepper

Bring to a slow boil and cook for about 3-4 hours.

This is very healthy sauce and can be used with spaghetti, on pizza, in casseroles.  It is good with vegetables like squash, zucchini and mushrooms for a Pasta Primavera.

Variations.
*You can add stew meat to sauce to make it richer and a meat sauce.  Pork also works.  The meat will come out quite tender and is great served over the pasta.
* I add some stew meat and when the sauce is almost done I take my immersion blender and blend it up for a smooth thick sauce.
* Add meatballs to the sauce about halfway through
             Turkey Meatballs
             1lb lean round turkey
             1/3 cup of bread crumbs
             dash of salt
             dash of pepper
             1 tea spoon Italian seasoning
             2 table spoons dried onions
             1 tea spoon minced garlic
roll into balls slightly smaller than golf balls and place in a baking dish.  Put in the oven at 350 for about 40 minutes.  Spoon into sauce and finish cooking.  By baking them you remove some of the fat from them even lean turkey has about 7% fat.

This is a large pot of sauce so I put up in quart containers and put in the freezer.  L leave one in the frig for ongoing use and pull one from the freezer when needed.

This makes great sauce for Meatloaf.   Outstanding stuffed peppers,  It can be used to make soups and stews and is even the base for my chili.

Enjoy

More later
Bruce and Pam