So here is my tomato sauce recipe... Easy peasy! It's so few ingredients that you will think there must be something wrong! There are just certain dishes where "simple stupid" is the best way. Don't F with it! Use quality ingredients and let them shine! Sometimes a solo or trio act is just what brings the house down! This recipe uses canned San Marzano tomatoes only! Ya gotta make sure they are D.O.P. Later in the season I'll post a recipe for a fresh tomato sauce!
Lady Gaea's Tomato Sauce- Out of season version!
3 ~ 28 oz cans of San Marzano D.O.P. peeled whole tomatoes, I use Cento. Crush by hand and use all of the liquid...yup...by hand. Remove any woody fibers and set the crushed tomatoes aside.
1 ~ 12 oz can of Cento tomato paste
1/2 cup of
VERY fine quality Extra Virgin olive oil! Don't you
DARE skimp! I will know! It will turn the sauce to velvet, and it will cling to your pasta like a silk négligée!
What?!I did NOT make a sexual reference to food! ...Gutter snipes!
1 cup of finely diced
sweet onion.
3/4 oz of fresh garlic sliced into very fine slivers and then rough chopped...I think most of y'all have something that can weigh that garlic out with?!
Here is where the recipe gets subjective...I always have basil growing. I use 4-6 good "tops" for my sauce...12-16 leaves minced
Feel free to also throw in some other forms of "herb" that you may have handy!
1 teaspoon of sea salt - adjust
after it has cooked down...remember my motto with salt? "You can always add, but not take away!"
A healthy pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
For any recipe...you must get your "mise en place" ready; this roughly translates to "get your shit together!"... or..."get all of you ingredients prep'd and ready to go!"
Place your olive oil in your saucepan. Before you add the flame or heat, throw in your garlic and your onion. Turn on medium heat. You just want to infuse the garlic into the olive oil and
start to cook the onion. You don't want to brown the garlic...when the garlic is well scented...add your hand crushed tomatoes. This will stop you garlic from burning/browning. Burnt garlic
WILL FREAKIN RUIN your sauce! If it happens...start over! Better to keep your wits about you, and don't smoke and cook!
After adding the hand crushed tomatoes to the pan...add your tomato paste, your salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Simmer this on low until you get a nice thick sauce. Low and slow Baby!!
Stir it often. Adjust your flavors with salt and pepper only when it's the right thickness!
Don't over think or over season. A successful sauce is achieved when no ONE ingredient stands out.
With a good base sauce...you can add vegetables or meat! Make it spicy!
Enjoy!