Homemade Italian Red sauce
A homemade spaghetti sauce that's almost as easy as opening a jar.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 28 oz can whole, peeled Italian tomatoes preferably San Marzano, see note
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped, ½ cup
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup red wine optional - see note below
- 3 oz tomato paste or ½ of a 6 oz can
- 2 tsp kosher salt to start
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- crushed red pepper to taste - try ¼ teaspoon to start if you like heat.
- water as needed (in ¼ cup increments)
- fresh basil optional
Instructions
- Place tomatoes in a blender with their juices and pulse until desired consistency reached.
- Heat olive oil in a 4qt. saucepan (or larger if doubling) over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent and rich in color, about 5 minutes. Briefly add garlic for 30 seconds until you smell it.
- Add red wine here, if desired. Cook for at least two minutes until wine is incorporated. See note below.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and add tomato paste. Swirl around until softened and combined with onions about 2 minutes. Add spices ending with sugar and quickly combine because you don’t want the sugar to burn but to caramelize just a bit.
- Quickly add pureed tomatoes and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Check the seasoning after 30 minutes or so. Add more salt/pepper or a little more sugar if the tomatoes are more on the acidic side.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning.
- The sauce will thicken which is what you want. You are looking for a rich, red, sauce with kick-butt flavor. You can leave it as it and use it w/meat or as a pizza sauce.
Notes
Cooking Options
- Check flavor and consistency after 30 minutes. The sauce can be thinned down with ¼ cup of water.
- You also can add some red wine (½ cup) right after the onions and garlic are added.
- Make my homemade meatballs using this sauce.
- You can cook down and use as dipping sauce for focaccia, a pizza sauce or even your favorite appetizer (I see you, frozen mozzarella stick lovers!).