Pomodoro Sauce

A good hearty pasta always comes with a delicious, hearty sauce.  The simplest of the sauces is a tomato sauce. 

I had printed the recipe for spaghetti pomodoro by Lucinda Scala Quinn ages ago, before I even planned the ravioli, for my "make" file.  I decided to kill two birds with one stone (that's such a violent saying!) by making the pomodoro sauce to go with my ravioli.

Lucinda calls this her "go-to" tomato sauce.  Once again, Lucinda is right.  Always listen to Lucinda!  It is such a great, basic sauce, and I can easily see myself adding ground beef, meatballs... anything.  The recipe also notes that you can add it to any recipe that calls for tomato sauce, such as lasagna, baked ziti, etc.

Once again, I didn't use whole tomatoes.  For one, I didn't feel like busting out a food processor.  Second, the cost per can.  I used petite diced tomatoes, although after watching the video, I might have been better off with tomatoes closer to a puree, or mashing the tomatoes down smaller, as I had large chunks of tomato in my sauce.

A second note - I forgot to get basil.  Woe is me!  I didn't have dried basil either.  I kept my cool and added oregano at the beginning of the simmering process.  Tasted great, actually.

Definitely a winner though.  Maybe I won't buy jarred tomato sauce again.

Pomodoro Sauce by Lucinda Scala Quinn of Mad Hungry

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling.
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• pinch of red pepper flakes
• 1 28 ounce can best quality whole tomatoes, lightly pulsed in a blender (I used two 14 ounce cans of petite diced tomatoes)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt (a good pinch)
• freshly ground black pepper
• small pinch of sugar
• 1 sprig fresh basil
• freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional.

Directions:
1.  In a sauce pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and garlic.  Swirl the pan to coat the garlic with oil and heat until garlic sizzles but doesn't turn brown, about 30 seconds.  Add red pepper flakes and stir. 

2.  Add the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and sugar and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook for at least 20 minutes, but no more than 30.  Add the basil the last five minutes of cooking.  Remove basil before serving.

Serve with your favorite pasta, or use as a sauce in other dishes.  Either way, enjoy!