Basic Tomato Sauce

I promised to post my tomato sauce recipe and then completely forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder to two ladies ( Hilda and Sonia) who sent me email reminders.

Now the best way to make a good tomato sauce is to use good Italian tomatoes, they are sweet and have a beautiful red color which makes a big difference to the sauce. We you are not in Italy it means we probably have to use canned Italian tomatoes.
I personally am not a big fan of canned goods. I don't get sweet Italian tomatoes but I do get absolutely delicious fresh tomatoes here in Israel.

Again this is my recipe and not necessarily authentic, just the way I like to make it. You can substitute the fresh tomatoes in this recipe with one can (28oz) of canned tomatoes.

Here's what you'll need:

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
2 medium garlic cloves sliced thinly
1 medium red / Spanish onion - chopped fine
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tbsp tomato paste (mostly for the color)
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves ( or 2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme)
1/4 tsp dried Basil (or 2 tbsp fresh chopped Basil)
1/4 tsp dried Oregano
2 Bay leaves (optional)
4 large red ripe tomatoes.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Method:
Place olive oil in the Skillet. Add the garlic slices
Now switch the flame on low and let the garlic infuse into the oil for two minutes.
Once the garlic is nice and fragrant. Add in the dried herbs.

Add in the diced onions, bay leaves and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

Place the onions on one side of the pan and add in the Brown Sugar.

Let it caramelize a little as it will add to the color of the sauce.
Then mix them into the onions and continue to cook.

Next add in the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste.
Continue to cook on high for 5 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1/4 cup water and let cook on medium for about 20 minutes.

 After 20 minutes - your sauce should have reduced and tomatoes softened like so.

Add in your fresh basil leaves.
You can leave the sauce chunky like so or  using a hand blender blend it to a smooth paste. 

My kids like a smooth sauce so I blend mine to a smooth paste like so. 

And that's it...!
My tomato sauce is ready. I  use this as a base for quite a few dishes such as
Pizza - Just thicken the sauce a litte more and spread over your pizza base.
Mushroom sauce. - Saute mushroom slices in one table spoon of olive oil, add a pinch of salt so the mushrooms will release the liquid. Once the liquid has evaporated add in the tomato sauce and cook for five minutes.

Will post more uses of this recipe in future for sure..
Hope you try it.


Thanks for stopping by. Happy cooking