Thick Tomato Sauce
We vary our tomato sauce, making it thick and rich like Nanny's. We also skip the step of chopping the onions, sautéeing, and then blending with the tomatoes. Instead, we leave the onions whole and braise them in the sauce. The sauce can be made quickly and easily and it has become Chris' favorite! Originally served as part of: Valentine's Day.
- Tomato Sauce (August 12, 2002)
- Farfalle with Spicy Sausage Sauce (January 17, 2003)
- Penne with Vodka Sauce (February 13, 2003)
- Sausage Cream Sauce (February 16, 2003)
- Cavatelli with Mushroom Tomato Sauce (April 7, 2003)
- Squid Sauce (February 4, 2004)
- Quick Tomato Sauce (April 26, 2004)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions (peeled)
- 6 ounces canned Tomato Paste (Contadina)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1¼ cups water
- 28 ounces whole peeled, organic tomatoes (Muir Glen)
- sprinkle hot pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 3-inch stems fresh, Italian-leaf, leaves removed parsley
- to taste salt & pepper
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
Instructions
We start by heating the olive oil in our Dutch oven.
We add the onions, peeled but not chopped, and sauté on medium-low heat until they start to brown on the outside. This takes about 5 minutes.
Then we spoon in the tomato paste, breaking it up into the oil. Using a garlic press, we put in the unpeeled cloves and press into the pot. We cook it for 30 seconds. Next, we add the water, measuring by filling the tomato paste can with cold water twice. We also pour the tomato liquid from the can of tomatoes into the Dutch oven. Then we use our immersion blender to purée the tomatoes right in the can and add these to the pot.
We add the hot pepper flakes, dried basil, fresh parsley stems, salt & pepper, and bay leaf. We then simmer the sauce for about 30 minutes, partially covered, over medium low heat.
We stir in the fresh parsley at the last minute and serve this over pasta for a delicious dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions (peeled, whole)
- 6 oz canned tomato paste (Contadina)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1¼ cups water (2 tomato-paste cans)
- 28 oz canned whole peeled tomatoes (Muir Glen)
- hot pepper flakes (a sprinkle)
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 3-inch parsley stems
- salt and pepper
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
Instructions
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Add the whole onions and cook over medium-low about 5 minutes, until they start to brown.
Stir in the tomato paste, breaking it up in the oil. Press in the garlic, unpeeled, and cook 30 seconds. Add the water and the juice from the tomatoes, then purée the tomatoes right in their can with an immersion blender and add them.
Add the pepper flakes, basil, parsley stems, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Simmer, partly covered, over medium-low about 30 minutes.
Stir in the chopped parsley at the last minute and serve over pasta.