Tomato Sauce Recipe – The Secret Sauce

How many tomato sauces have you tried?  I don’t even want to know how many different things I have tried over the years.  Its pretty crazy how there just isn’t a standard recipe for tomato sauce after centuries of practice. When talking food with my Italian friends, I like to bring up the fact that tomatoes originated in the Americas and were exported to Italy.  They never believe me until they look it up, but I always concede that they mastered the tomato.

Fresh tomato sauce takes every pasta dish to the next level.  I know that its convenient to just grab a jar of your favorite sauce, but if you have the time I promise you won’t regret starting from scratch.  I also guarantee that you will probably change my recipe in some way to your taste… and so the saga of a standard tomato sauce recipe will continue into eternity.  Don’t be shy to let me know any of your changes because I always like trying new options.

I hope that you enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4.5 lb Tomatoes (2kg)
• 1/2  onion minced
• bunch of basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tea red pepper flakes
• 6 whole cloves of garlic crushed and peeled
• 3 tbl tomato paste
• salt + pepper

Directions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil.  Cut a cross on the bottom of the tomatoes. And drop groups of them in the water. Just blanch them for a minute. Remove to a colander.  When they are cool peel the skin and cut out the hard white part that attached to the vine.
2.  Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Cook onions until they just start to soften.
3. Grab the tomatoes, open them up, and remove the seeds.  Then give them a good squeeze over the pot to break them up and drop in with the onions.  This part is a good stress release!
4. Add 1.5 tea salt to the tomatoes.  Then take a potato smasher and smash the tomatoes in the pot. Add the paste.  Let this cook for around 45 min.
5. Meanwhile heat 3/4 cup of olive oil in a separate sauce pan over medium/low heat.  Add the basil.  Add the garlic. Add the red chili flakes.  Let this cook for 15 min until the basil is wilted and all the flavors are infused into the oil.
6. Strain the oil infusion removing all of the basil leaves/garlic/etc.  Stir this infused oil into the sauce until its all incorporated.  Salt and pepper to taste.
7. This sauce is ready to be tossed with any pasta of your liking!