Simple Sugo Recipe (our family's pasta sauce), vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free options included

Ingredients

• 48oz strained San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large Spanish onion
• 3 celery stalks
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 3 tbsp dried parsley
• Salt & Pepper
• (Optional) 1 tsp dried chili flakes
• (Optional) 1 parmigiano-reggiano rind
• (Optional) Grated parmigiano-reggiano
• (Optional) ½ tsp anchovy paste
• (Optional) 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

This recipe allows for many additions depending on your taste. Sundried tomatoes, black or green olives, soppressata or other salamis, ground meat are things we sometimes add.

Notes

This takes approximately 2 hours to prepare, much of it away from the stove. This recipe makes approximately 125oz of sauce, depending on additions. Best served on fusilli, penne, orrechiette in my opinion. This sauce will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days, depending if you added meat or not. It will keep in the freezer for 3-5 months, likewise depending if you added meat or not.

For vegetarian/vegan option, omit the anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce (as it contains anchovy as well), all parmesan, and use vegetable stock instead of beef/chicken. For gluten free options, use egg noodle and omit Worcestershire sauce. For pizza sauce, puree sauce warm in food processor or blender until smooth.

Prepare in Advance

Crush cloves of garlic and let sit for 20-30 minutes before cooking. Breaking/bruising garlic cloves allows a chemical compound called allicin to be released, which has many desirable effects to health and taste.

Finely grate carrot and celery stalks. Discard large fibrous strands from the celery. Finely chop onion. Dice/chop any additional ingredients you may wish to use.

Recipe

Mince the previously crushed garlic and cook in olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium-high heat. Pay attention to the color of the garlic, stirring frequently until slightly browned and aromatic. Once this occurs, quickly add the chopped onion alongside salt and pepper. The water in the onion will stop the garlic from cooking and potentially burning. Reduce heat to medium. Throughout the recipe, reseason with salt and pepper to taste.

Once onions are translucent, add the previously grated celery and carrot. Combine well. Cook until reduced in size. If you’ve opted to use anchovy paste and Worcestershire sauce, add it here and combine. Any kind of additional ingredients, add it as well. Slivered sundried tomato, chopped black olives, diced soppressata, etc need to cook a little bit and this is the preferred opportunity to impart flavor to the sauce. Cook these ingredients for 3-4 minutes.

The mixture of carrot, celery, onion is the foundation for much of European cuisine. This combination is called a mirepoix. Other names include sofrito, soffritto, the holy trinity, etc with variation in ingredients (eg. parsnip, bell pepper). Chances are most French, Italian, and Spanish dishes you find at a restaurant begin with these ingredients. Mirepoix gives a depth of flavor that is hard to identify but would be sorely missed if omitted.

Add approximately ½ cup of strained San Marzano tomatoes to pan and stir to combine. We add only a little bit of the tomatoes to the sauce at this point because we want it to slightly caramelize, giving the sauce a touch of sweet, which ultimately cuts the acidic taste of the tomato. Some recipes may call for adding sugar at this point instead, but I consider this sacrilege and a little strained tomatoes or tomato paste at this point serves the same purpose. Additionally, add the dried oregano and dried basil to the sauce, along with the chili flakes if desired. Cook through the tomato for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add 2 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock, scraping the bottom of the pan. Something called a fond may form at the bottom of the pan: it occurs when meat or vegetables are cooked on a stick pan and leave a burnt residue on the bottom. It is full of flavor and can be released from the pan using the stock. It may not appear on non-stick pans, but this is fine. Cook with the stock for 4-5 minutes.

Add half of the remaining strained San Marzano tomatoes and equal amount water. Stir to combine. The sauce should be very thin at this point. Optionally add the parmigiano-reggiano rind at this point, ensuring it is submerged in the sauce. The parmesan rind will amplify the savory/umami taste already present. Once the sauce barely hits a boil, reduce heat to just high enough to maintain a light simmer.

Simmer the sauce for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally and monitoring the sauce thickness. If it gets too thick, add ¼ cup water at a time. Ideally you want to simmer for as long as possible with the final result being a thick sauce. Only add the water if necessary and if you can reduce it: it’s only there to prolong the simmer to the full 60-90 minutes.

Raising the temperature back up to medium, remove the parmesan rind and add the remaining strained San Marzano tomatoes and the dried parsley. Stir very well, and only bring up to temperature. The best sauces (in my opinion) are a mix of cooked and uncooked: you want the deep, rich, umami flavors of everything cooked, but also the fresh taste of tomato. After adding the remaining tomatoes, the goal is to just bring it up to temperature, and not cook. Remove from heat once warm.

In another saucepan, bring salted water to a boil. Toss in your preferred pasta and cook to desired doneness. Strain when done, but keep a little (maybe ¼ cup) pasta water in the pan. Transfer the strained pasta back into that saucepan. Add 1 cup of the finished pasta sauce to the pasta and stir to combine. Serve with additional ladle of pasta sauce atop and optionally grated parmesan.

bon appetit