Red Sauce Staple~Clean Cuisine

By SpartyGreenMom

Want to know the secret weapon of some of the world’s best chefs? A killer sauce. A sauce can turbocharge the simplest of “whole food” ingredients into a culinary masterpiece bursting with flavor. In many cases, it is the sauce that makes the meal!
And yet as important as a sauce is to bringing to life the most basic of ingredients, it is also one of the least understood facets of cooking. Once you acquire a repertoire of sauces you will be blown away at how effortlessly and quickly you can pull together the tastiest of meals. But of course the sauce has to be healthy or you might as well just order take out.
Making a sauce that is both tasty and healthy is a challenge, but it can absolutely be done. And it doesn’t require a single pat of butter, not a drop of cream, zero mayo, and very little to no oil.
Since a basic red sauce is one of the easiest things on earth to make and something just about everybody loves, we thought we would start off with that. The recipe below yields a lot of sauce, so you will have plenty of leftovers! You can store leftovers in a jar and keep them in your fridge for a week or freeze for up to a month.
We suggest you keep a super sauce in your fridge at all times. That way, you can pull together a complete Clean Cuisine meal in minutes. Use the sauce to dress roasted, steamed or lightly cooked frozen vegetables, baked potatoes, grilled fish, whole grain pastas, whole grains, beans and more.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 whole head of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 box (26.46 ounces) POMI brand chopped tomatoes
• 1 box (26.46 ounces) POMI brand strained tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from cleancuisineandmore.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large heavy non-toxic saucepan (we like Ceramcor). heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and season with salt and pepper; sauté until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and Mrs. Dash Italian Seasoning and simmer, uncovered, over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve chunky as-is or use a handheld stick blender and process until smooth and creamy.