Homemade pasta sauce puts every store bought-brand to shame. There truly is no way to replicate the combination you have simmering on the stovetop at home, and my family is always happy when a mega-batch of this sauce is ready to go.
One trick to making awesome pasta sauce is to make it rich, full of a variety of flavours, and thick enough to cling to any/every shape of pasta. Search no further for precisely that sauce recipe!
This sauce has 4 different forms of tomato, onions, shallots, and loads of roasted garlic. Carrots add a touch of sweetness, vodka balances that with a little punch. The secret ingredient in this recipe may surprise you — canned artichoke hearts. Yes! You will understand why when you taste this sauce!
Ground turkey works wonderfully with this sauce, but beef or lamb would be excellent, too.
Some hints for how to make the BEST sauce:
- Use roasted garlic, which is more gentle than fresh, and you can learn how to make it here.
- You can also cook garlic on the stovetop, and use the infused oil to sauté the veggies.
- If you have parmesan cheese with a hard rind, cut it off and toss it into the pot when cooking sauce.
- Balsamic vinegar balances the acidity of the tomatoes and brings out their best flavour.
- Butter stirred in at the last minute makes the sauce luxurious and glossy, and helps it cling to the pasta.
- Homemade Italian seasoning is always better than store bought, and super easy to make.
This makes a very large batch. Use 10-12 cups of the sauce to make lasagna, pour over your favourite pasta, scoop up the sauce with bread, or freeze for future use.
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Rich Tomato, Vodka, and Roasted Garlic Sauce
Description
Rich and full of flavor
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 large onions, chopped
- 2 large shallots, chopped
- 1 – 16 ounce bag baby carrots, cut into chunks
- 2 heads roasted garlic
- 6 Tbsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp pepper flakes
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 ounce can tomato paste
- 3 – 28 ounce cans peeled whole tomatoes
- 1 pound grape tomatoes
- 3 Tbsp sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
- 1/2 cup vodka
- Parmesan rind, if desired
- 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, and the liquid
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 3 pounds ground turkey, seasoned and browned
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil. Sauté the onions, shallots, and carrots over medium heat until tender. While they are cooking, open the cans so everything is “ready to go”.
- Add the italian seasoning, pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, and allow to toast for 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully so it doesn’t scorch. Add the tomato paste, cooking until fragrant. Then stir in the vodka.
- Dump in the canned tomatoes, grape tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic, and the entire can of artichoke hearts with the liquid. Add the parmesan rind. Cover and simmer for an hour, or so.
- While the sauce is cooking, brown the ground meat, seasoning it with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms once the meat is no longer pink, and cook about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, but allow to stand in the pot so all juices are gathered back into the meat.
- Using an immersion blender, purée sauce to desired consistency.
- Add meat and mushroom mixture to the sauce, then stir in the balsamic vinegar and butter.
