Toni Michael Chef
← Back to all recipes
№ 002 · Sauce · 5 hr

Red Sauce

My mom doesn't write down recipes, so one day I followed her around the kitchen and wrote this one down while she cooked. These days I make one small change — I use a carrot instead of sugar to balance the acidity — so that means it's mine now, right?

This is our family's Christmas red sauce for pasta and meatballs, but I almost love the leftovers even more. I freeze portions throughout the year so I can turn them into from-scratch creamy tomato basil soup for lunch, paired with a bougie grilled cheese, of course.

— Toni · 7 August · 2026
Ingredients
  • 2 links Italian sausage
  • 2 links spicy Italian sausage
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 6oz cans tomato paste
  • 1 bottle Italian red wine
  • 2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
  • 2 28oz cans San Marzano tomatoes
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 packed cup basil leaves
  • 8 sprigs thyme
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 4 bay leaves
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. 01 Add Italian Sausage to a cold, large stockpot
  2. 02 Turn heat to medium-low and allow fat to render slowly, turning every few minutes for about 15 minutes
  3. 03 Turn heat to medium-high and brown the sausages on all sides
  4. 04 Remove sausages from pan and set aside
  5. 05 If there is more than 2 tbsp of fat in the pan, remove some; if there's too litle, add a neutral, high smoke point oil up to 2 tbsp
  6. 06 Reduce heat to medium
  7. 07 Add the onion and carrot and cook to translucent, about 15 minutes
  8. 08 Add the garlic and cook to fragrant, about 30 seconds
  9. 09 Push the onions and garlic to the sides of the pot and add tomato paste; cook to a rusty red color, about 5 minutes
  10. 10 Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, and reduce by half; about 10 minutes
  11. 11 Add sausages back to the pot, as well as the remaining ingredients
  12. 12 Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and gently simmer for 3-5 hours, stirring occasionally
  13. 13 Remove bay leaves, thyme and rosemary stems, and sausage links
  14. 14 Using an immersion blender, blend to desired consistency
  15. 15 Add salt to taste
Tags
Made this? Tell me about it

Comments