This is the basic sauce for pasta, polenta, and lasagne. It is best prepared the day before it is used.
1 pound
roast, chuck is good for flavor OR 1 pound mushrooms of your choice,
Portobello
etc
1
brown onion, chopped
olive
oil
3-16
ounce cans tomato sauce, see note below
1/2-cup
red wine
1-cup
water
salt
Additional
ingredients to taste. We use:
2
cloves garlic, minced
1/2-tsp
basil
1/2-tsp
rosemary
1/2-tsp
oregano
The
herbs are listed for dried amounts. We use fresh, which would be
approximately
double what's listed.
Cut the roast or mushrooms into small pieces, put in a heavy saucepan with about 2 T olive oil. Add chopped onion and over medium-high heat, brown the meat, stirring often. Cook until a nice crust on the meat develops or until the mushrooms and onion are very soft and browned. Do not skip this step!
My mother-in-law would add the garlic at the beginning. I add it after to avoid scorching it. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Note: if you have an abundance of tomatoes, parboil them to remove the skin, do a rough chop, and throw them in to replace the canned stuff. Stir well and reduce heat to a simmer. We cook about two to three hours.
Add salt to taste.
It
should be very thick. Remove from heat and cool immediately.
Refrigerate
overnight. Reheat over low heat when ready to use.