Simple Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 tbsp unsalted butter, optional

Directions:
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Yield: 6 cups

Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

Notes:
This tomato sauce is so delicious! It has a velvety, smooth texture and perfect flavor. I ended up adding 2 tbsps of butter at the end.

I could only find 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes so I used two of those plus an 8oz can of tomato sauce. I will definitely make this and freeze it often since it is so much better than store bought and simple to make.

Used in the following recipes:
Spaghetti with Olives and Tomato Sauce
Penne with Turkey Meatballs
Baked Chicken Parmesan