This Sunday, I made the Fresh “Backyard” Tomato Sauce I got from my friend. This year’s tomato crop wasn’t all that great according to some, but the backyard sauce I got from my friend Lauren was tangy, and I really like it that way. Usually, I deglaze with red wine vinegar, but I don’t if the sauce is tangy already. I knew this sauce could stand up to some extra flavorful ingredients and so I started with my “mire poire”. Today I am also adding the farm fresh sausages to the sauce which I get from the Amish in Pennsylvania.
In a big pot (4 quarts or more) begin:
Cover the bottom of the pot with olive oil, how much? until the bottom is covered, then stop!
1 medium or large onion, sliced and sauteed in the oil over medium heat, always heat the oil before adding onions.
4 or 5 or 6 or even more cloves of crushed, sliced or minced garlic, added to the sauteed onions.
1 or 2 stalks of celery, cleaned sliced, diced, and practically minced. 2 or 3 small/medium carrots, also sliced, diced, and practically minced. Add celery and carrot to the browned onions and garlic. We want everything to get nice and soft. Stir it up at regular intervals.
1 package of Baby Bella mushrooms, rinsed and washed out in water, and sliced. Add them to the pot and cook down the mushrooms stirring everything up, cooked well.
3 jars off “Backyard” Tomato Sauce added to the pot, mix it up to combine well.
Top the sauce with a bay leaf, some oregano and some fresh basil to your liking.
Add salt and pepper to your taste.
Simmer low and for at least an hour.
Sauteed onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in olive oil.
Cooking down the sliced mushrooms in the onion, garlic, celery and carrot mixture. I always get the Baby Bella (Crimini) mushrooms when they are available.
I add 1 bay leaf, lots of fresh basil and oregano to the sauce. Simmer, low heat stirring regularly.
This is my farm fresh sausage, cut up because the farm does not make links, just an average 1lb big sausage link you cut up yourself. I baked the sausage whole in the toaster oven at 350 for 30 minutes turning it once, and then I cut it up as you see before adding them to the sauce.
Sauce with all the ingredients mixed in.
Rigatoni with home made “backyard” sauce and fresh sausages from the farm. The basil was from my herb garden, the oregano from Italy, bay leaf is from my Aunt’s Laural Bay tree in Sicily. Yes I smuggled the bay leaves in.
"The Sicilian Penthouse" also known as my life in a "finished basement" 