How do you feel about dried basil? It arouses visceral hatred in a lot of cooks, but sometimes we have no fresh, and parsley only goes so far as a replacement.

How do you feel about dried basil? It arouses visceral hatred in a lot of cooks, but sometimes we have no fresh, and parsley only goes so far as a replacement. FWIW, there's nothing sacrilegious about your short simmering time. Folks who simmer their red gravy all day are making an entirely different sauce. Gravy can be magnificent stuff, but it's a different food from, say, Marcella Hazan's lighter sauces, the lightest of which is literally nothing more than tomato and butter. I think your recipe strikes a nice balance between the two.