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My mother calls it gravy. Yes, I come from a “gravy” family.  I cannot go along with this tradition. It is sauce to me. Gravy is pan drippings or stock thickened with a roux. Sauces are made from a wide variety of ingredients, fruits being one option. Sorry, Mom.

Though we disagree on the name, we agree about everything else on the subject of tomato sauce. When I was learning how to cook this was one of the first things I wanted to learn how to make. I, and everyone else who ever tasted it, always admired my Mom’s, really the family’s, amazing tomato sauce. What a nice surprise it was, to learn how easy it is to make. The secret is mainly in the technique, which is mostly about patience, and quality of the ingredients, rather than quantity of them. The simplicity is partly what makes it so special. It’s all about enhancing the flavour of the tomatoes by complimenting them with ingredients that support, and do not overpower their flavour, and simmering the sauce for a long long time. Yes, we are those people who believe that a worthy sauce has to age into its full potential. There are those who think that a wonderful sauce can be made within an hour. This has never been proven to me. A quick sauce in my opinion is simply flat.  Not only should a sauce be simmered for hours, but it should be chilled and allowed to sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, then be brought back up to heat before serving. It is only after this rest that all of the flavours truly combine. So when you decide to make this sauce, start the day before you intend to eat it.

I am not really sure how many servings this recipe makes. How do you measure a serving of sauce? Some people like a lot and some people only use a little. I like a lot of sauce and I suppose I could serve up around 10 good sized plates of pasta with a generous amount of sauce on it with this recipe, but this is only a rough guess. Even if you are cooking only for yourself or a couple of people, this is the smallest batch of sauce you should ever make. It freezes well and has lots of uses so even if you do not think you can eat it all within a couple of days you can always freeze it for later.