Tomato sauce

This is the sauce that I used on my Vegan Portabello Pizza's. The basic recipe came from an Alton Brown cookbook. I left a few things out that we shouldn't have and changed the amounts of some of the ingredients.


I doubled the recipe. After it was made and cooled, I put a cup and a half in each freezer bag, labeled and dated. This recipe can keep in the freezer for up to a year. But I'm sure you will have eaten all of it, way before that.
I love freezing the sauce. I had unexpected company, and was able to make the pizza's up in just a very short time. Also I had the "cheese" made up and in the frig" Again I had doubled the recipe so it came in very handy.



Ingredients:

1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup Sherry vinegar
1/2 cup white wine-check notes below
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 Tablespoon Agave Nectar
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2-3 ribs celery-diced
1 large onion-chopped
3 Tablespoons oil-(Not EVOO. Should not be used at that high of a temperature)
4-5 cloves garlic- mashed and cut in half
pepper to taste
pinch sea salt

Directions:

1-Drain tomatoes well in a kettle, set tomatoes aside. Add the vinegar, wine, Agave Nectar. pepper flakes, oregano and basil to the tomato juice. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the ingredients are reduced by half, and the mixture is syrupy.
2-Heat the broiler to high. Put carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a glass pan, toss with the oil.
Put under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the onions are tender.
3-Add the well drained tomatoes to the vegetable mixture, mixing well. Continue to broil 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until tomatoes are browned around the edges. Watch carefully as you do not want the veggies to burn.
4-Carefully remove from oven, add to the sauce that has been removed from the heat.
5-Use a stick (immersion blender) and blend to consistency desired.-check notes below.
6-Serve immediately, or cool and then freeze.

Comments from Verna's Kitchen:

1-This sauce is quite thick. I prefer it that way for pizza's because it helps to keep everything from getting soggy.
2-I didn't have Sherry Vinegar so I used Champagne Vinegar. You want a mild vinegar in this recipe.
3-Never use cooking wine. If you can't drink it you don't want to use it. A Pinot Grigio or a Sauvigon Blanc would be a good choice. I used the first.
4-I use my stick ( immersion) blender all the time. It saves so much work and mess, as you can put it right into your kettle and blend.
If you don't have one, put the sauce in a blender in small amounts after it has cooled, so that you don't burn yourself.

Enjoy!!

Have a super day.