Cookbook:Crushed Tomato Sauce

Crushed Tomato Sauce
Category	Sauce recipes
Servings	4
Time	30–45 minutes
Difficulty

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An easy tomato sauce recipe that's great with pasta and chicken or eggplant parmesan. It also works well with pizza, and as a dip for mozzarella sticks.

Ingredients

• ¼ cups olive oil
• ½ onion, or an equal amount of shallots
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes (Cento brand is best)
• 5–6 leaves basil, julienned or minced
• 1 tsp salt
• Several cranks of ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning (optional)

Procedure

1. Heat olive oil in skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, if desired.
2. Turn the heat down to low and add tomatoes.
3. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Taste a spoonful of the sauce, and season with salt to taste; taste again and salt as needed.
5. After it is salted to your taste, stir in the basil and remove from the heat.
6. Serve however you like and enjoy!

Notes, tips, and variations

• You may add ground meat or ground Italian sausage, cooked in a separate pan with vegetable oil.
• If you add mushrooms, make sure to cook them with the onions.
• Try swapping half the olive oil for pork fat.
• If you want a little kick, add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes when cooking the onions.
• If you have a spare rind from a wedge of parmesan, you can add the rind to the sauce while it simmers for additional savory umami flavor.
• The sauce freezes well. Defrost some whenever you want pasta, pizza, eggplant parm, or mozzarella sticks.