Tomato Sauce
People change. Times change. Feelings change. And though your Italian grandmother would scold me, I have to confess...
My tomato sauce recipe...has changed.
Lucky for me I am still young (Although the impending “3-0” this month makes me feel like I'm 10 steps away from the nursing home.).
But at 30 I’m pretty sure I am still young enough that I can change my “signature” sauce recipe. And hopefully by the time I'm 70 no one will remember how fickle I used to be with my famous “Sunday gravy."
Tomato sauce was one of the first things I ever made, and it was the very first thing my husband and I ever made together.
(The first and the last, there is no room for two cooks in my tiny kitchen. ;) )
We took his brother’s recipe and followed it to a T-- Googling every step, convinced we were doing it wrong.
And many times we really were doing it wrong.
From there I developed my original Tomato Sauce recipe. Now don’t get me wrong--it was a good sauce, it had a real depth of flavor and richness to it…
But as the years went by I found myself craving something…different. Something more tomatoey--something with a fresher, lighter taste.
And so, I will now admit it: I have changed my signature recipe.
And though years ago I claimed that my original recipe produced the “best sauce ever,” I will now formally retract that statement and release a new one! Saying that THIS, THIS RECIPE is the very BEST tomato sauce EVER. This is my signature sauce.
At least for now. ;)
Tomato Sauce
Makes 10 cups of sauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Five-28 ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2-4 teaspoons kosher salt
15-20 large basil leaves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Sauté Onions and Garlic in the olive oil over medium low heat until tender and translucent, about 7 minutes. Add tomatoes, some of the salt and pepper, and puree mixture with an immersion blender. Put over medium heat and let come to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for approximately 2 hours until the sauce has almost reduced by half. Add the basil and red pepper flakes and cook for 30 minutes more--until sauce is thick and not watery. Add more salt and pepper if needed. ENJOY!
NOTES:
- For a low-cal sauce use 2 tablespoons of olive oil instead of 6 tablespoons.
- This is a simple sauce and good tomatoes really do make all the difference; if possible try to get San Marzano tomatoes--they are hands down the best!
- Don’t be fooled. Some companies will include “San Marzano” in the name of their tomatoes or on the can but they may not be from the San Marzano region; you want tomatoes that are from San Marzano.
- I usually use a yellow onion, not a sweet onion. A white onion would work also.
