Recipe: Simple Tomato Sauce

This very simple sauce recipe is just the base.   You can add almost anything you like to it.   Alone, it is a fabulous pasta sauce that you can make in about an hour.

Yield:  Approximately three quarts.

Ingredients:

3 28-Ounce cans of crushed tomatoes

3 9-Ounce cans of plain tomato paste

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/4 Teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon dried basil

1 Teaspoon minced garlic

1 Teaspoon minced onion

In a large pot, add everything but the tomatoes.

Then add the tomato paste

Then add the crushed tomatoes.

Cook over low heat, stirring well every 10-15 minutes until the sauce is piping hot.  If you are using a gas stove, make sure the pot is heavy enough so the heat can dissipate a bit along the bottom or the sauce will probably burn.  If it burns, its ruined. 

At this point, the longer you cook the sauce, the more the taste will shift from tart to sweet.   Cook to desired taste and remove from heat.

Done!

Things to add:

Sauteed Onions:

Dice a white onion and saute in a pan with olive oil until translucent.  Transfer to sauce.  If you make these, a good amount of oil will come with the onions, so you don't have to add the oil listed in the sauce recipe.

Sweet Italian Sausage:

Brown in a pan, drain well, add to sauce

Hot Italian Sausage:

Brown in a pan, drain well, add to sauce.  If you are planning to add this, omit the red pepper from the original recipe.

Meatballs:

I will be posting a recipe for these shortly.   If you use your own, just make sure they are fully cooked before adding to sauce.

You can pretty much add anything you want.   A friend adds cheese and spinach.   The sauce is basic for a reason.  Use your imagination and make it your own!