Sammy Cat’s Best Sauce
Jalapenos are the most popular chile peppers in the US. This is probably due to the availability and versatility of the chile. Jalapenos have a balanced combination of flavor and heat.
The demand for these have caused breeders to develop a broad range of varieties. You can now get jalapenos with various heat level and sizes. These can be used in salsas, stuffed, or eaten straight with cheeseburgers (my personal favorite).
Ingredients:
1 28-oz can tomato puree
1 28-oz can concentrated crushed tomatoes
1 large white onion
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp whole cumin seeds
3 to 5 jalapeno peppers, roughly chopped
3 Tbsp good quality olive oil
3 bay leaves
Instructions:
Heat a good-sized pan on high heat until very hot. Quickly add the olive oil and then the chopped garlic, jalapenos, and onion, and saute. Add salt, pepper, and whole cumin seeds. (Leave flame on high until onions are brown, but not burnt!)
Add crushed tomatoes, puree, and tomato sauce and a little water to get remaining tomato products out of cans.
Add bay leaves, oregano, basil, and a little more black pepper.
Keep stirring constantly and when sauce starts to bubble, lower flame to smallest flame possible. Cover and stir every 20 minutes for about 1 hour and a half.
When done, serve on pasta or rice.
By Thomas Marchese