Merlot Kissed Campari

Here is what I made just a few minutes ago. The flavor is out of this world and its easy to make. Recipe and ingredients will come soon.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups portobello mushrooms chopped
1 medium sweet onion diced
1 cup Merlot Wine
3 Tbsp EVOO preferably first pressed
2 lb. Fresh Campari tomatoes
3 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp Litehouse freeze dried Italian seasoning
1 medium size zucchini squash chopped
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup pure organic cane sugar or more to sweeten
1 tsp Huy Fong Sriracha hot sauce
All measurements are approximate, cook to taste, this will yield one large jar of sauce.

Prepare all veggies beforehand ie the onions and mushrooms

Step 1:
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Place the tomatoes in the water, keep heat on high, and let the tomatoes cook for about 40 seconds, place immediately in cold water to stop the cooking process. This will also make the skins wrinkle and easy to peel. Peel the skins and set to the side you will be using these later. Place the tomatoes and merlot in a blender or food processor and puree. Remove and place in a sauce pan and set on the burner but do not cook yet.

Step 2:
Add 3 Tbsp EVOO to a cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic and saute until the onions and mushrooms are cooked. The onions should be slightly carmelized. Now mix with the tomatoes and make sure you try to get every last drop as this is super flavorful and you want all the flavor you can get. Now turn your tomatoes on high heat until the sauce bubbles, leave at this temp for about 30 seconds, stir often to make sure it does not burn on the bottom of the pan, reduce heat to medium high and cook for roughly 5-6 minutes. While this is cooking take about a cup and a half of sauce from the pan, put it into the blender. Add half of your saved tomato skins, hot sauce, and the chopped zucchini, puree, now you should have a thick paste. Add this to the sauce and let it continue to cook until your 5-6 minutes are up. Add sugar the last minute and half and mix well, you want to add enough sugar to take away any bitterness from the tomatoes and the skins. You do not want too much sugar to make it too sweet! Your sauce should start to thicken once you put the paste in.

Ok here some things to consider:

The longer you cook the tomatoes the less nutritional value they maintain. You want a fresh taste not a canned, processed, pasty taste like most sauce out there.

Tomatoes have naturally occurring pectin which helps it to thicken, if cook too much the pectin will make the sauce very gummy and you do not want this at all.

Most people exclude the tomato skins because they will make the sauce more bitter, but thats ok. Sweeten with pure organic cane sugar until the sauce has a slight bitterness left to it but not too sweet. As it sits in the frig the sugar will mellow the bitterness even more. Do not add too much sugar!

Let the sauce sit overnight chilled the flavors will mix even more and mature or use it fresh on any pasta you like!

Enjoy!