Simple, Luscious Tomato Sauce

I love a good store-bought jar of tomato sauce.  Stir in some protein (cooked ground beef, Italian sausage, etc.), pour it over some freshly boiled pasta noodles, top with a little parmesan, and I promise you I will enjoy every single bite, every single time.

Recently, I decided to make my own homemade-ish tomato sauce.  Mama Suz was coming into town, so, what better opportunity to make something deliciously special than when the most amazing, strong, beautiful woman in the world was coming to visit?

In the past, my eyes have danced across numerous simple tomato sauce recipes, and the basic recipe is to use the following:  a can of tomatoes, an onion, and a little butter.  I used these staples and also added fresh garlic and a humongous basil leaf.  The result was absolute lycopene antioxidant perfection, I’m telling you.

This recipe makes about 3/4^th of a mason jar (see below).  Next time, I will double it so that I can keep the rest in the fridge for a meal further along in the week.  It will also freeze well.

Simple, Luscious Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes

1 white onion, peeled and cut in half

½ stick unsalted butter

1 large basil leaf (or 3-4 small leaves)

1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half

S & P to taste

The Process:

I am madly in love with this recipe’s simplicity.  Are you ready? Here we go . . .

Pour the can of tomatoes into a sauce pan with high sides.  Place the two onion halves into the pan, cut side down.  Throw in the garlic with reckless abandon.  Toss in the basil.  Place the butter in the middle of the tomato goodness.  Add a little S & P to taste.  With making your own sauce, you can ontrol the sodium, and the tomatoes bring their own juicy sweetness.  Some store-bought sauces have insane amounts of sodium, as well as sugar, so check those labels!

Let the sauce simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes or so on a medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon every now and then, but make sure to keep some texture there.

Keep the onions cut side down; if you try to mess with them, they may fall apart as they soften during the cooking process.  Having the cut side directly on the heat (and not touching them) is what makes the onion flavor slowly sing through the entire sauce without overpowering it. 

~BEFORE~

~AFTER~

Before serving, remove the onion, basil, and garlic.  They have done their beautiful job.

I served the sauce atop delicate angel hair noodles and placed a piece of breaded chicken on top for protein.  I then added Cheesy Broiled Tomatoes (note - previous post!), because, why not?  A little extra fresh basil to bring it all on home. . .

Bon Appétit!

Happy Weekend.