If you’re like me, you have A- an undeniable love for all things marinara and B- an absurd heap of tomatoes oozing from every corner right now. Not that either of these are problems, but for lack of a better word, here’s the solution! A delicious batch of homemade pasta sauce to help you use up those delicious maters. I love tomato season. 
Don’t have a pile of tomatoes taking over? No prob, you can make this with canned guys too. There, more problems solved. 
I chose to make this batch more meaty than veggie-filled, but of course you could change that up if you wanted. I used grass-fed beef for this one… though turkey would work just fine too. Craving vegetables? Add in some diced mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, or eggplant if you want too! There are no rules, just a base for a very delicious sauce to smother over whatever it is that you’re craving. Eggplant parmesan, spaghetti, lasagna, ravioli, whatever.
Speaking of ravioli, I attempted some. I’ve made ravis before, but this time I tried with Otto’s cassava flour. (I’m in love with that stuff!) I recently made some linguini with it (recipe HERE), so thought I’d try my hand at some cassava ravioli too. I won’t lie, this batch was no bueno. The stuffing was fab, and the sauce was great, but those little noodles were too thick and doughy for a proper ravioli title of any kind… but I will try again, and again, and even again, until I get it right! (Stay tuned for that one…. hopefully it’ll be soon.)
Here we have the morning’s collection. This size batch comes along about every three days…. just from my few little plants! These guys are thriving this year. So I’ve been making soups, jams, and sauces. Mmm, sauces.
makes 4-6 servings
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs fresh tomatoes (or 28oz can stewed or diced tomatoes)
1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
1 cup chopped yellow onion (approx 1/2 large onion)
1 tbsp minced garlic (approx 4 large cloves)
1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp salt, plus more as needed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
3 tbsp olive oil
to garnish: fresh basil & grated parmesan, if desired
DIRECTIONS
If using canned tomatoes, skip this step…
Bring a large pot of water to a boil
Remove stems, then slice an “X” on the bottom of each tomato
(This helps the skin come off easier)
Plop the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30 seconds, then strain
You should see the skins starting to fall off right away…
Rinse with cold water- let tomatoes cool while you begin prepping the other ingredients
Chop onion, mince garlic, and measure out herbs
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat (I like cast iron)
Add the oil, followed by meat, salt, and pepper
Cook for approx 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until meat is almost completely cooked
While the meat is cooking, prep those maters…
Peel off all skin (it should be very easy to remove)
Slice tomatoes in half, quarters for large ones
(Some people like to remove all of the seeds- I don’t mind them in this)
Good to go…
Add all remaining ingredients (tomatoes, onion, garlic, herbs, wine, paste, and bay leaf) to the meat
Stir to mix
Cover, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for approx 1 hour
(Of course you could dig in sooner, as soon as the meat is cooked really,
however the flavors won’t be as delicious without that slow-cooking)
When you remove the lid, you’ll see the sauce is a bit liquidy… this is easy to fix
Continue cooking the sauce until some of that moisture cooks off, to your liking
Taste and adjust seasonings as desired… it will likely need a boost of salt,
but I prefer to go light in the beginning to avoid over-salting, then add at the end
(Flavors change while cooking depending on the meat, maters, herbs, etc.)
Better safe than sorry!
Add whatever you’d like to get it how you want 🙂
Want to make this in advance? No problem, just store it in a large Pyrex or container
of some sort, sealed, and refrigerate for up to a few days until you’re ready to grub down!
When you’re ready, remove the bay leaf and serve it up over whatever you like…
Whether it’s noodles, chicken parmesan, or something else entirely,
garnish with a little fresh basil and grated parm, if you like
(Cassava noodle recipe HERE for those who want it)
Enjoy!!
