Sunday night I returned home from a weekend away visiting friends, to a city that had the chill of October mere days before the 4th of July. Boston is known for unpredictable weather, and Sunday was no exception. I took advantage of Mother Nature's mood swing and threw together a super hearty and almost healthy red sauce. This particular recipe didn't feature bacon, but I did include pork sausage, so party on!
Anyone that's ever attempted a traditional tomato based sauce will tell you it's a commitment. I love being true to a recipe just as much as the next food blogger, but I'm also a realist. It was already 7:30 and True Detective was finally back with new episodes. Sacrifices were made. Within moments, garlic and chopped onions were flung from the tip of my trusty chef's knife into a small pool of hot olive oil.
Let's be honest. I love to cook. I love to try new techniques and recipes. Homemade is the the best way whenever possible. That being said, preparing my own sausage wasn't on the agenda. I don't even know where to go about buying meat casing and I definitely don't have the counter space to make it all happen. I opted for store bought, but cut the sausage out of the casing to ensure maximum crumbliness. Free the meat, so to speak.Once cooked, I pulled the sausage out of the pot, but left as much of the onion and garlic (and grease!) in the pot as was possible. Two cans of diced tomatoes, a healthy splash of olive oil, fresh cracked salt and pepper, and about 20 minutes on a low simmer got me almost to the finish line. I tossed in my go-to Italian seasonings (fresh basil, oregano, parsley, crushed red pepper flakes) into the pot, mixed in my super secret ingredient (one small can of tomato paste), and went to town blending the sauce to tomato-y bliss with my immersion blender.
(*If you don't have an immersion blender, get one. Game changer)
I said this was a sort-of healthy recipe, didn't I? Yeah- something had to redeem me after a weekend of lobster rolls and fries. Tossing baby spinach, kale, and button mushrooms in olive oil and garlic still counts, right? Good- glad you're coming with me on that. I must have really been craving veggies last night, because I even busted out my veggie spirializer (http://www.amazon.com/Veggetti-Spiral-Vegetable-Slicer-Veggie/dp/B00IIVRB3W - thanks, Amazon!) and put it to work making zoodles - yes, zoodles.
When it was all over, the entire process took about an hour, and I ended up with 4-5 healthy portions of sauce - which I could eat with a spoon right out of the container. I'm not going to say I've actually done that... except that I did and I am and I'd do it again. 
