Tomato Sauce Recipe

I've been making the same tomato sauce for years. It's easy to get into the habit, honestly!

It's not a bad tomato sauce by any means, but the boy mentioned that he thought I should try something new. So for the past month or so I've been playing around with a new recipe! This tomato sauce recipe is based on a Lidia Bastianich recipe I found while searching for classic Italian tomato sauces.

I highly recommend it on its own or simmered with a pound of ground beef and some red wine :D

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 14.z oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 onion, diced finely
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Since this tomato sauce has so few ingredients, it's good to splurge a little on the tomatoes. I suggest buying organic at the very least. :D

You can add in Italian seasoning, basil, oregano and garlic, too - but I love the flavor without any of that!

Also, make sure you use a smooth olive oil you enjoy all by itself! If you use a really bitter or sour olive oil, the flavor will really come through and throw off the balance of the sauce. I made that mistake once and it took waaaaaay too much sugar to come close to correcting it. :P

You'll want a wide shallow pan to cook the sauce in as well.

Heat up a large skillet (I'm using a 12 inch pan) over medium heat and add in your olive oil.

Saute the onions until they begin to turn translucent and shrink a little, and then add in the bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Stir this for a minute or so.

Add in the tomatoes to the hot pan and stir them around. Because we've used so much olive oil, it will slightly fry the tomatoes and bring out tons more flavor!

Once the sauce is brought to a bubble, lower the heat so the sauce is simmering. Either cover with a splatter screen or with a tilted lid that's left mostly open. If you're brave enough you can leave it totally uncovered, but I prefer to keep my kitchen not red. ;) (We're simmering it uncovered so it reduces a bit!)

Simmer it for at least 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes.

Once it's simmered for 30 minutes, taste and then decide how much salt and pepper you'd like to add! You can also add a little sugar if you like, but I normally don't need to. :)

The finished tomato sauce is nice and thick - perfect for just about anything. So far I've had it on pasta, rice and pizza!

It's also a perfect compliment to homemade meatballs. :D