My girlfriend Sjanie makes a very similar sauce entitled “Never -Fails-to-Get-You-Laid Tomato Sauce” ...and it’s true to it’s name... The secret to great tomato sauce is LOTS OF IT: lotsa garlic, ample olive oil, copious booze, plenty of salt... and an abundance of time and love! An Italian mama I met in Australia taught me that you need to cook it for several hours in order to get that irrisistible, almost cheesy quality. You cannot rush great tomato sauce! My Danish friend Ole also lived in Italy for a while, and once made me a tomato sauce that had maple syrup in it. He mentioned that while in Italy it’s common to use white sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, he likes using maple syrup because it lends a certain depth to the sauce.
This sauce needs time to get really good. It is an extended, sensual affair... You can do a fresh tomato version when tomatoes are in season... use 10 ripe plum/red heirloom tomatoes and increase the cooking time by at least 2 hours.
1 1/2 tsp. ghee (see recipe further down)
5 cloves garlic
1c julienned onion
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2c. red wine
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/3 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp fresh rosemary
1 tsp (or more) celtic sea salt
ample fresh ground black pepper
Heat the ghee in a heavy saucepan or pot. When hot, toss in the garlic and onion and sauté until translucent, adding a pinch of salt. Then add the tomatoes, 1/3 of the wine, maple syrup, the olive oil and more salt. Allow the sauce to simmer while you do other things in the kitchen - if you’re going for gold with the shiitake phyllo wraps, you’ll have plenty else to do! Add the rest of the wine slowly, over time. The rosemary goes in about 45 minutes into the process. When it’s done, you’ll know because it will taste like it has bound, or “come together.” Usually that takes between an hour and an hour and a half.
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