A few years ago, a friend of mine gave me a recipe for Baked Ziti. Her husband was stationed in Naples, Italy for a few years and she got the recipe from a local. The recipe included a homemade red sauce that we really liked, but it wasn’t quite perfect. Adam has spent the last few years tweaking it and he’s finally determined that it’s as good as it’s going to get. And it’s good, really good. We use it now any time we need red sauce. Anytime Adam makes it for friends, they ask for the recipe so he asked that I share it here, so it’s easier for him to share with everyone. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

6 28 oz cans crushed tomatoes (I use the kind with basil)
3 ½ sticks of unsalted butter
4 medium onions, peeled and cut in half
4 carrots, peeled and cut in half
Handful of fresh basil
8 to 10 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 can tomato paste
1 cup red wine

Directions:

Put all ingredients in to large stock pot and simmer uncovered for 6 hours, stirring often.  You want keep little bubbles popping, but do not over heat.

At 6 hours remove the onion and carrot.

Allow sauce to continue to simmer for another 2 hours.

Remove pot from burner and allow to cool to room temperature.

Refrigerate sauce overnight. (This is a must as it really improves the flavor.)

When ready to use the simmer sauce for a minimum of 2 hours prior to service.  The longer it cooks, the richer the flavor will be.