Chef Jonathan Collins has spent twenty years perfecting his tomato sauce and he shared his prized recipe with us! Steven says he'll never make tomato sauce the same way again after tasting this Chef approved creation. The key to success is roasting garlic, sautéing vegetables, using good red wine and making use of Parmesan rind. Enjoy!
TOMATO SAUCE
By Chef Jonathan Collins
Ingredients
12 cups (3 litres) canned crushed tomato ½ cup (250 ml) tomato paste 1 finely diced yellow onion 1 finely chopped celery heart with leaves 1 finely chopped carrot ½ cup finely chopped leek 4 or 5 chopped cremini mushrooms 1 finely diced red chili pepper 2 whole garlic bulbs 2 cups (500 ml) red wine 1 cup (250 mil) virgin olive oil ¼ cup fresh thyme ¼ cup fresh parsley ¼ cup dry oregano 3 fresh or dry bay leaves Sea salt Black pepper Parmigiano Reggiano
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove top of whole garlic bulb exposing the cloves. Place the bulb on a small sheet of foil and drizzle a liberal amount of olive oil on the bulb, season with salt and pepper. Seal bulb with the foil and roast in oven for 30 to 45 minutes until tender.
Over medium heat, add extra virgin olive oil to a large saucepan. Combine vegetables in pan, sauté until tender and caramelized 10-15 minutes. Add tomato paste to bottom of pan and sauté until brown in colour and fragrant. Deglaze pan with red wine, mix ingredients well and continue to sauté until dry. Combine canned tomatoes with thyme, oregano, parsley and bay leaves and add to pot. Squeeze the cloves of garlic from the bulb, work with a fork into a paste and incorporate into the sauce. Remove a slice of rind from the Parmesan and drop into sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for up to 2 hours, remove bay leaves and Parmesan rind to finish.
If you prefer a smooth sauce, simply puree the finished sauce using an immersion blender.
