Scenes from our kitchen: Tomato Sauce

As I was working on a post about working I became very tired and decided that a picture of canned tomatoes and brief recipe would be just the thing for a Thursday night. 

I discovered the revelation that is homemade tomato sauce about five years ago. Every jar on the supermarket shelf was too sweet and my increasingly savory palate wanted something that tasted more like bright tomatoes and less like ketchup. I've tried many recipes over the years and decided that I like this basic one the very best. Often I start with this recipe and add a little of this and that to make it just right for whatever I am serving it with. 

2, 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes- my favorite brands are Muir Glen, Cento, San Marzano and Scalfani. 

2-3 small onions, finely diced

1/4 cup of olive oil

Large dash of kosher salt

(50% of the time I add 1-2 crushed garlic cloves, it depends on how I'm feeling. Since birthing two children my affinity for garlic has dwindled. Not sure what that's all about...)

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add crushed tomatoes and salt. Stir, of course, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. 

This is a flexbile recipe and is never the same twice. I have been known to add the following:

Fennel seeds (with the onions and garlic)

Thyme (" ")

Bay leaf (while sauce simmers)

A squeeze of honey  (If I decide I want a touch of sweetness to balance out the acidity, I add honey when I add the tomatoes)

A glug of red wine (I add this with the tomatoes as well and let the sauce cook for an hour as opposed to 20 minutes)

A generous pat of butter (at the very end to "finish" the sauce...not traditional, but definitely yummy)

Fresh basil (at the end as well)

 

 

 

Comments

[Jessica R]

I'm going to try this. I've never made my own tomato sauce, and this seems so easy, I may as well. Also, I don't really like the stuff in jars and end up adding so much garlic powder and herbs that I might as well just make my own. Thanks for sharing!

[Laura Voisine]

Jessica- I hope that you can create your own "house" recipe based on this simple one. Much love!