The Joys of Canning- Tomato Sauce

A few years ago dear friends of ours, Ruth and John introduced us to the art of canning.  As a couple its a hoot. We go to the local Farmer's Market and get the freshest ingredients we can.  Then come back into the kitchen, turn on music, open a bottle (or several) of wine, and cook large quantities of whatever met our fancy; then can it.  We use these finished canned products as gifts for family and friends, as well as eat throughout the year.  We've come to love the experience together.  Talking, much laughing, and creating together.  Here's a tomato sauce we made recently. We bought 40#'s of beautiful ripe tomatoes at the market and made seventeen quarts one Saturday afternoon. Obviously, this can be scaled down, I'm sharing the recipe for 6 Quarts.  It does not need to be canned, but does very well frozen or will hold in the frig for 4-5 days. Enjoy!

The secret to this preparation is the cooking of the tomato paste.  A Nona (Italian Grandmother) once taught me the technique of slowly cooking the paste over low heat, frequently scrapping the bottom of the pot as not to burn and really cooking the paste.  By working it in this manner you caramelize it deeply, fully bringing out the incredible flavors that can only happen with this slow (did I say slow?) and patient process. Trust me this labor intensive step will pay huge dividends in the end.

Makes 6 Quarts

1/2 C. olive oil
1 cup shredded onions
4 Tbsp. minced garlic
24 ounces of tomato paste
1 cup white wine
1 gallon puréed fresh ripe tomatoes

1 1/2# pork spare ribs

2 Bay Leaves

4 tablespoons ea. fresh chopped parsley, oregano, and basil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 C. (1 stick) butter

Crushed red pepper flake, to taste

Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Set a 8-12 quart stock pot (thick bottomed pot) over high heat. Add olive oil and warm. Add onions and sauté so deep brown edges emerge. Add garlic, stir and cook another minute and garlic becomes fragrant. Lower heat and add tomato paste, stir and combine with onions and garlic. Slowly cook the paste, scraping the bottom of the pot every so often. Cook for 20-30 minutes, being careful not to burn.

Now, add the white wine and increase heat, reduce liquid by half. Add sugar, tomatoes, bay leaves, and pork ribs. Bring sauce to a boil, then lower the heat immediately to a moderate simmer, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Cook sauce for 2 hours and then pull ribs out of the sauce. Let ribs cool enough to handle then pull the tender meat off the bones.  (This can be chopped and added back to the sauce at the end or saved for another use). Return bones back to the sauce and continue to cook until the sauce thickens to the proper consistency, another 1-2 hours.

Once sauce has properly thickened, remove and discard all bones and bay leaves from the sauce. Now, add herbs, red pepper flake and season with salt and pepper. Cook another 15 minutes, then turn off heat and add butter (and if desired, the chopped rib meat). Let butter melt and slowly incorporate into the sauce. Stir and taste, adjust seasoning.

Sauce can be canned (just remember to add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice per quart), frozen up to 3 months, or just shared and enjoyed right away. Enjoy!