Something a Little Different – Home Made Pasta Sauce

With politics seeming to dominate our narrative of late and it being canning season, I thought I would share with the American Partisan readership my homemade pasta sauce AKA Red Gravy.

MrsMac and I typically make 24-pint jars of pasta sauce a year with the tomatoes from our garden. It starts with collecting 18 to 20-pounds of tomatoes. Fifty percent is Amish Paste and the rest is made up with Brandywines and German pinks.

Once I have picked a stew pot full, I core and cut the tomatoes in half put a cup or two of water into the pot and set on the stove at low and covered. During the time it takes the tomatoes to break down I stir the pot, so they do not burn. Long and at a low heat is my motto.

Once the tomatoes are broken down I run them through a hand cranked food mill.

Food Mill

Once the tomatoes have been milled, I put the pot back onto the stove at low heat. We cook with propane so I actually put a diffuser plate between the burner and the pot. This helps in spreading the heat evenly between the fire and pot. I also take a long spoon or skewer and mark the level of the pureed tomatoes before the reduction process begins. You will be canning the sauce once it reached 50% reduction.

Stove Top Diffuser Plate

While your sauce is simmering and reducing, stir occasionally.

When you have reduced the sauce by 25% add the following to the sauce.

1/2 Cup Fresh Cut Basil 8 Toes of Garlic Minced
 1 Cup Dry Red Wine 1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar or Glaze
1 Palm Dried Oregano 1 Palm Dried Parsley
1 Palm Dried Thyme Sugar to taste
6 Medium Sized Onions – Vidalia or Spanish

Reduce another 25% to 50% of the starting point. Then can at 11-LBS for 15-minutes using pint or quart bottles. Twenty pounds of tomatoes typically yield 12-pints of gravy.

We can our red gravy in pint jars for versatility as we use the sauce for other reasons than just pasta sauce. When I use the gravy for pasta, I always add a good handful of raisins – Golden or regular. My grandmother always did this as it added a nice sweet tang to the sauce when you bite into one.

Last tip, I also insert a hot pepper split down the middle into six of the jars to give it a nice bite.

Enjoy!

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About the Author: johnyMac

37 Comments

  1. Johnny Paratrooper September 22, 2020 at 08:22

    Yum. Baked Ziti, or Lasagna, is my favorite pasta dish. This would be a great sauce for that. I’m gonna throw some raisins in my next sauce.

  2. Spin geraht September 22, 2020 at 08:54

    Nice change up post thank you. Good times

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 09:23

      ??

      • rto-jerry September 22, 2020 at 12:49

        JohnyMac, I am neck deep is red onion used most often for salsa canning. Ever use the reds for your magic pasta sauce! BTW thanks for the recipe and awesome to shift gears for a bit from “Rome burning”. I am on it!!

        • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 13:01

          rto-jerry, no, I have never used red onion. I wish I could grow onions. I have tried and tried and tried. They never get much bigger than the original onion bulb I put in the ground. By the way, it is good to switch gears away from the “Rome is burning” drama we see each day.

          God Bless

  3. Michael September 22, 2020 at 09:03

    Thanks johnnyMac! The details about the diffuser is important. Like the idea of the raisins in the Red Gravy to smooth the bite of the peppers. Now I need to see how to make raisins out of my grapes. Too many to eat fresh so…

    Did you try out a Pasta Garden this year? Mine is growing well, almost 3 inches high and I am in the process of raking up and shredding leaves for the winter mulching. Need more in the spring to keep weeds (tares) out for easier harvesting. Wheat is a very doable gardener thing at least in NH. Pasta is just ground wheat and water-shaped and dried (IF not cooked up fresh YUM) flour tortillas are just the same plus some lard griddle fried. Sourdough etc. etc.

    Food is a weapon, don’t be disarmed by hunger.

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 09:28

      Thank you Michael.

      What is a pasta garden? Curious in NE PA. \”/

      Once I get the rest of my winter fire wood in, I will be tilling my garden and tossing out winter rye. In the spring I will till the rye into the soil which helps with nutrients and I think keeps the weeds at bay.

      73 & God Bless Brother.

    • Michael September 22, 2020 at 15:08

      JohnnyMac a Pasta garden is where you plant a patch of winter wheat with the intent to harvest it next summer. Like your rye cover crop but you don’t till it in for the next garden. If you were to mow a grassy sunny area, place some tarps to block the sunshine (look at the sun through the tarp to confirm if you need to double it) for a couple of weeks then use an iron rake and some wheat seeds and irrigation in there you might in your area get a bit of growth before the snow and see a crop needing some shredded leaf mulch to keep the weeds down in the spring. Mine was started a couple of weeks ago and 3 inches of greens are awaiting the fall shredded leaf treatment. Hope you and I both get an Indian summer this year.

      I’m surprised maybe I posted about this to a different AP authors posting? I mentioned how to use a 5 gallon bucket and a threaded rod, some locking nuts and a bit of dog chain for a grain flail and a shallow toss basket and a strong breeze or fan to remove the chaff and DELIGHT the Chickens.

      Food is a weapon, don’t be disarmed.

      • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 15:28

        Love it Michael! Thank you.

    • Michael September 26, 2020 at 06:44

      jonnymac rereading my comment forgot to mention a power drill is used to power that threaded rod grain flail. A but faster than a hard packed floor and a swivel club type flail or oxen walking in a circle grain separation. Remember the scripture 1st Timothy 5:18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

      If wheat could be processed in bible days to feed cities and empires we can do it also. I’ve seen a shop vacc powered chaff remover that uses PVC fitting to make a Y type fitting where you set up the vacc on the side leg as so the grain is poured down into the clean bucket as the airflow from the shop vacc clears the chaff.

      Food is a weapon don’t be disarmed. Holodomor literally translated from Ukrainian means “death by hunger”, “killing by hunger, killing by starvation”, or sometimes “murder by hunger or starvation” is something Socialist-Democrats-Marxists understand very well.

      It’s BEANS Then Bullets Then Band-Aids for a good reason. It’s shelter, water Then Food in the survival critical’s for a reason.

  4. DAN III September 22, 2020 at 09:33

    Mr. Mac,

    Nice change of pace with the sauce recipe. The raisin addition was new for me. You learn something every day, eh ?

  5. DAN III September 22, 2020 at 09:34

    Mr. Mac,

    Nice change of pace with the sauce recipe. The raisin addition was new for me. You learn something every day, eh ?

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 12:39

      DAN III, I got that raisin addition from my Grandmother. She got it from a neighbor who was an Italian immigrant. My Grandmother use to give her PA Dutch dishes to try and the neighbor would give my Grandmother Italian dishes to try. It was a great friendship that circled around cooking.

      On another note, when I make spicy curry dishes, I always throw in a handful of raisins too. When we lived in the PNW I would add chopped up sweet cherry’s to the curry too.

      God Bless Brother

  6. Riflemyn September 22, 2020 at 10:07

    My family has been making red “gravy” in Italy for generations. My parents opened a restaurant when they came to the US in the fifties and taught me how to make it. It is one of many different sauces. In Italy, the traditional Sunday red “gravy” type of sauce is very regional and use ingredients common to that area so my recipe is different than others including yours. That is normal.

    Some changes you may want to consider

    1. After you wash the tomatoes, cut them in half and place them on a sheet pan. Drizzle some olive oil, black pepper and salt on them and roast them for 35-45 minutes at 400 degrees until brown and melted. Dump it all, including the juices, into a pot for cooking down into sauce. The roasting gives the sauce a considerably better flavor.
    2. Add one can of tomato paste to 2 cups of warm water and dissolve it and add it to the pot.
    3. Up the garlic to half a head and add some crushed red pepper to taste and 1/8 cup grated parmigiana cheese and 1/8-1/4 cup olive oil to the pot. I have never used vinegar. Never knew anyone that did so I can’t comment other than to say it ups the acid too which is not a good thing as the tomatoes are full of it.
    4. Get rid of the sugar…it burns and has no redeeming value. Take 2 large carrots and cut them in half lengthwise. No need to peel. Add them to the sauce pot. They will get rid of the acid and eliminate the need for the sugar. Throw them out when the gravy is done.
    5. Keep all of your other ingredients.
    6. Simmer the “gravy” till thick and not watery. Stir often to assure it does not burn. When the sauce is done, about 2 hours, add a handful of torn fresh basil and 1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley. Give it a final stir…serve

    That is how we make red gravy in Italy. My family’s restaurant was noted for the sauce and fresh pasta. Now I just make it for family and friends but we always have a gallon in the house along with other types of red sauces

    • Scurvy September 22, 2020 at 10:50

      Hay Rifleman,
      Thanks for your families version of sauce. Do you/they have one for Pizza sauce? I make a decent pizza and found that the sauce makes a difference but the better brand I like is tougher to find.
      [My contribution to the discussion is to add panko bread crumbs just bellow any moist vegetables on your pie to keep the soggy away. Not much, just a dusting. also sucks up the greas from the pepperoni. ]

      • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 12:29

        Thank you Scurvy for your suggestion. I will keep that in mind.

        God Bless

        • Scurvy September 22, 2020 at 20:04

          Used to work at a small chain pizza joint that used “Crisp-It”. When ever someone left it off a pepperoni it was obvious to everyone, including the culprit.

          I’ll need to run by the former’s market to get a bushel of Roma’s (thanks Rifleman) and just see what I can create. Another trick I do is to do two proofs of the dough then divide into portions and stick in refrigerator for at least 12 hours to ferment and develop lots of flavor.

      • Johnny Paratrooper September 22, 2020 at 12:38

        Slice your vegetables a few hours early. That will allow excessive moisture to evaporate. You don’t have to worry about food borne illness because the pizza is heated to 400-500 degrees.

      • Riflemyn September 22, 2020 at 12:50

        Because this is a meatless sauce, it will work for pizza. The only change I would suggest is to use Roma tomatoes for a pizza sauce

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 12:13

      Oh man that sounds GREAT Riflemyn. I copied your recipe over to a text.doc, printed it, and put it into the recipe box for next year. Thank you sir.

      I have read replacing the sugar added with carrots. I do not add much just a few tbsp however, MrsMac is a diabetic I and I am a II so every little bit helps. Thank you.

      73 & God Bless

      • Riflemyn September 22, 2020 at 12:48

        My pleasure…I hope you enjoy it.

    • Ralph k September 22, 2020 at 12:50

      Hi Riflemyn,

      Quick question, after the baking of the tomatoes, do you ever strain out the seeds and skins, aka like JM does with the food mill?
      I tend to skin them and seed them first before any cooking starts, saving all the juices of course. Definitely like the notion of baking the tomatoes for more flavor. Also, liked your carrot idea. Try adding old parmesan cheese rinds to the sauce and discard at the end, same effect as adding grated parmesan. Thanks to all for this added info, love to cook, and of course eat it as well. Puttanesca sauce if one of my favorites, with the added red pepper flakes, anchovies, olives and capers. It is divine.

      Lol, lots of responses to this entire article, seems everyone would rather cook, eat and enjoy life than conjure up ways and means to fight. Thanks to all.

      • Riflemyn September 22, 2020 at 13:52

        No..I never use a food mill. The skin adds flavors and nutrients to keep you strong. Never encountered a seed…LOL. They must be in there though

  7. Curious Passerby September 22, 2020 at 10:21

    Thank you. I’ve never canned tomato sauce. I made mountain berry jam this year. That was good stuff.

    I never tried the raisins before, but it sounds interesting. I usually add some balsamic vinegar.

    If you have vegetarians to cook for, I learned a neat trick. Crushed walnuts in your spaghetti sauce can replace meat. Cooked in the sauce, the walnuts have no particular flavor of their own and they add texture and thicken the sauce some.

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 12:15

      Great idea Curious Passerby…Thanks.

      MrsMac makes sugar free jam’s which are good. What is a mountain berry? Black berry, blue berry, other?

      73 & God Bless

      • Curious Passerby September 22, 2020 at 13:06

        huckleberries. Every summer, I make a special point to go to the mountains to pick huckleberries.

        I pick as many as I can while I’m there and save them for the rest of the year. We make pelmenni with them. They’re great in vodka, too. I added some to a bottle of crystal skull and it ends up looking pretty cool after a week, or so.

        • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 13:39

          Curious Passerby, got it! Thank you.

          MrsMac makes a raspberry and blackberry liqueur. Lets see…The recipe is cheap vodka 1:1:1/2 part of the following 1 part berry of your choice, 1 part vodka, and 1/2 part sugar. Put into a 1/2 gallon jug or #10 mayo jar, or, or, or. Everyday you shake the concoction for a month. Then once a week for another month. Let sit for a third month, shake, and then strain into an appropriate bottle. She uses port bottles. Then forget for eight or so additional months. Usually I take the first taste when she starts picking berry’s again the following year to start the whole process over again.

          Funny end to this short recipe. MrsMac is a friend of Bill W. Has been for twenty-seven years now. SO IT’s ALL MINE!

          Good stuff,
          God Bless

          • Curious Passerby September 22, 2020 at 14:46

            Sounds like good stuff. I’ll have to keep that one in mind.

    • Michael September 22, 2020 at 15:13

      You can also add cooked white beans to make a quite tasty meatless pasta dish.

      The Roman Army defeated most of the known world with a diet mostly of dried beans, olive oil, whole wheat bread and local greens.

      Beans the other white meat :-)

      Acorns after you leech out the tannins tends to be tasteless and mushy but works well as a protein in a casserole or pasta dish.

  8. taminator013 September 22, 2020 at 10:36

    Like you I do the homegrown tomatoes for my sauce. Mostly San Marzano Redorta and Roma, but whatever other leftover heirlooms that year also go into it. I pick them throughout the season and freeze them whole in Ziploc bags. These are thawed sometime in September or October and have the water dumped out of the bags. Saves a lot of time in the reduction process. These are then run through a mill and cooked down with homegrown Genovese basil, Greek oregano and whatever variety of garlic I grew that year. Usually end up with between eight and ten gallons. Sounds like a lot, but most of it goes quicker than I’d like………..

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 12:18

      Taminator, MrsMac loves San Marzano Redorta tomatoes. We use the Amish Paste which are just like Roma’s but grow better at our latitude (42′).

      I love all the different varieties of sauces you folks are sharing.

      73 & God Bless

  9. everlastingphelps September 22, 2020 at 12:21

    Point of order — it’s not gravy until there is meat in it. Until then it’s sauce.

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 12:33

      Thank you everlastingphelps. My Grandmother (PA Dutch) and MrsMac’s aunt (First Generation Italian) stand corrected. ;-)

      God Bless

  10. James September 22, 2020 at 17:40

    Any thoughts on the cost to get into canning,say any gear I need and say 100 jars,tis something I would like to do down the road/life permitting,till then have 100’s of store bought canned goods along with lots of other food stuffs but when I get me new property if sale goes thru would like to do canning as I set up home and new activities.

    • johnyMac September 22, 2020 at 19:38

      Wow James, that is a quite a question. How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? ;-)

      To do that you need to plan out meals for – In my case two people – And go from there. We can ~30-days of green beans, carrots, red sauce, and any left over zucchini and yellow squash if we have not used it up.

      We then buy potatoes (Dirty potatoes as they last longer than washed) to augment what we grow. Lets say 50-lbs total – We give away to the food bank any extra. Then we buy 25-lbs of Spanish onions because I can not grow onions for what ever reason. Add to that, acorn and butternut squash along with peeled and then frozen turnips which we grow. We do not like canned turnips or rutabagas. Last we buy 2-bushels of late season apples which in our root cellar last till about late spring. Oh, I almost forgot. We buy local fresh corn – Blanch cut off the cob and freeze in freezer bags, 2-cups per meal.

      Then we use pint jars for maple syrup that I process in February (approx. 8-12 pints) and pork lard in September (approx. 10-14 pints). Lard is GREAT for pie crust and fried potatoes along for other fried items.

      I use quart jars for peaches and pears which we get from our trees. Maybe 6-8 quarts each fruit depending on yield.

      With that all written, you need to do the math for the folks who live in your home. I gave you a guideline based on two folks.

      Last, you need to buy a QUALITY canning pressure cooker. I use the 23 Qt Presto Canner & Cooker. There are others however, I have had great results with that pressure cooker.

      It use to be you could buy canning jars for pennies on the dollar at garage sales. You only need to buy lids & seals. Now, who knows. REGARDLESS, buy lids & seals NOW. Great bartering fare. I typically get three seasons out of canning seals because I am VERY careful opening canning jars. There is a technique I learned from my Grandmother. In some cases longer.

      I have never canned meat however, my grandmother use to. When guests would come over she would have me go down to the root cellar to grab a qt. of chicken, turkey, or beef for what ever she made on the fly for dinner. One of her guest friendly dinners was chicken or turkey pie with white gravy and of course canned veggies. Totally Penn. Dutch meal served with sweet/sour pickled cucs, green beans, beets (Yuck I am not a beet fan) and pearl onions. Along with a canned peach or pear torte with STRONG coffee, and armagnac.

      I thank the good Lord every time I make one of my grandmothers dishes that she took the time to teach me and I had the foresight to write down the recipes. My mother still turns up her nose when I mention these recipes BUT when she is at the redoubt and I make these dishes she digs in with gusto.

      James, I hope that helps a little.

      God Bless Brother

      • James September 22, 2020 at 21:19

        Well,you mentioned the in a daily/non dollar amount but not How Much?!

        I get it,entering the game different then years back but still,need costs.

        That said,would even more then canning costs appreciate if available the cost of a hand coffee bean grinder(that does a good job)as things get more “interesting”.Yes,have a few pounds of pre ground but really,who wants to drink that ?!

        I guess the food end of canning differs from areas cost wise,still,looking into it and till then stocking up on “factory cans”.

        On a side note,am a big fan of potatoes and onions,once set loose they seem to be happy in the wild in the hills of New Hampster.

        They grow and thrive with no more attention then picking seasonally,works for me.

  11. Anonymous October 17, 2020 at 16:34

    1

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