French Spaghetti Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 pounds of ripe, flavorful tomatoes
1 teaspoon of sugar (optional)
1 bouquet garni
salt and pepper

How to Make a Bouquet Garni
With Kitchen Twine. Just take four or five sprigs of herbs and tie them securely together with a length or two of cooking twine. Sometimes a leek leaf is used to envelope the herbs before tying them together.

Tip: When tying your herbs together, leave a long length of string which you can attach to the handle of your soup pot. When your ready to remove it, the bundle can be easily fished out.

With Cheese Cloth. If you are using dried herbs or small bits of seasonings, wrap them up in a square of cheese cloth before tying them together. I have also seen people recommend using a tea ball, but I think that might give nightmares to a French chef.

With a Bag. Some cooks like the convenience and neatness of a bouquet garni bag. You just pop your herbs in the little pocket and pull the strings to close it.

Already Made. Here in France, I frequently buy my bundles of herbs already tied up for me. If you are a busy cook, you too may appreciate the speediness of ready to go flavor.

1. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a non-reactive (enamel, glass or stainless steel) pot on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

2. Cut each tomato into 16 or so chunks and add to the pot. Bring the sauce to a boil, then turn down the heat until it is at a very low boil. Add the bouquet garni. You can also add a small amount of sugar if the tomatoes are not sweet enough.

3. Cook the sauce at this very low boil for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

4. Using the finest mesh strainer on a food mill, process the sauce into a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. You can freeze this sauce in clean plastic containers.

(If you don't have a food mill, be sure to peel and seed the tomatoes before adding them. After it is cooked, run the sauce through a food processor to smooth it.)

Serving Size: makes about 2 cups or 4 1/2 cup servings

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user WALLAHALLA.