Tomato Sauce III
Sometimes a simple tomato sauce is just what you need for a dish. This sauce is all about the tomatoes. The tomatoes I use in the recipe are from Costco. They are San Marzano Tomatoes in a 100 oz (2.84L ) can. They are whole peeled tomatoes packed in tomato puree with basil, salt and citric acid and are $4.00 a can. Not only are they a good buy but they are good tomatoes. Since I grow basil in my garden and I always have way more than I would use fresh so I fill the blender with the leaves and add a bit of water and olive oil and puree it. Then I put it in a large zip lock bag spreading it flat and thin and freeze it to use all winter. Oregano is one of those herbs that is alive and well under the snow in my garden. If we do not have too much snow I will go pick some for this recipe. We love this sauce on pizza. Leftovers can be frozen.
Ingredients
- 3 tbls olive oil
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2-28oz cans whole tomatoes (preferably San Marzano Tomatoes)
- 2 teas dried oregano or 2 tbls fresh oregano
- 2 dozen fresh basil leaves
- salt & fresh ground pepper
Directions
- Put the olive oil and the garlic in a large cold saucepan. Turn the heat to low infusing the oil with the garlic. Cook slowly until the garlic is lightly browned.
- Crush the tomatoes by hand or with a masher to the desired consistency. Add these to the saucepan along with the oregano, half of the basil leaves and some salt and pepper to taste.
- Simmer until the sauce has reduced and is thick, about 20 minutes.
- Finely chop the remainder of the basil leaves and add to the sauce.
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy