Classic Red Pasta Sauce

Rigatoni and Meat Sauce

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Ingredients

2-3 carrots, grated

1/4 - 1/2 a yellow onion chopped small

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

Olive oil

*For meat sauce, about a pound of Italian sausage

Method

Start with a little olive oil in the bottom of a sauce pot (I prefer using a dutch oven pot). On medium low heat, add the onion and carrots and a generous amount of salt to make the onions sweat. Once the onions have become translucent and the carrots are soft add the can of crushed tomatoes. Let the tomatoes cook down for a few minutes and then turn heat to low and cover. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add salt and box of pasta. When the pasta reaches al dente, ladle 2 scoops of starchy pasta water to the sauce, or until desired consistency is reached; leave the lid off for a few more minutes. Strain the pasta, and test the sauce for desired salt. Add sauce to pasta and top with optional parmesan cheese, red pepper flake, fresh parsley. Freeze any leftover.

For Meat Sauce

Brown sausage in the bottom of the sauce pot prior to making the sauce. Remove from pot and continue steps to make the sauce. Once the can of tomatoes is added, just before putting on the lid, add the sausage back in. This will allow for the sauce to take on the flavor of the sausage.

*Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled to feed a larger crowd. If adding meatballs instead of sausage, add them into the sauce as you would the sausage so they defrost and or finish cooking in the sauce.