Easy Tomato Sauce

This Easy Tomato Sauce, is a quick Traditional Italian recipe . Made with a few simple ingredients, you will never use store-bought again! Toss it with your favorite pasta and dinner is served.

The perfect weeknight dinner recipe, makes all types of pasta Delicious. Top with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and dinner is served. It makes the perfect sauce for Homemade Gnocchi!

If there is one thing that I haven’t been able to live without since moving to this country, it’s tomatoes.

Tomatoes have to be the most versatile vegetables out there. You can cook them, stew them, fry them, bake them, all this and you can also eat them raw!

They say the Italian flag colours, which are red, white and green, represent tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Isn’t that fitting!

Those are the exact colours in this fast, easy and  delicious tomato sauce. But instead of mozzarella we have garlic and or Parmesan Cheese.

Recipe Ingredients

• Olive oil – good quality
• Garlic – minced
• Tomatoes – canned pelati tomatoes (peeled tomatoes nothing added)
• Oregano
• Basil – fresh or ground or both
• Salt
• Hot pepper flakes – optional or black pepper a dash or two
• Water

How to make an Easy Tomato Sauce

In a medium pot add olive oil and garlic, cook on medium heat for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and hot pepper flakes.

With a fork squish the tomatoes to break them up, then stir to combine the ingredients.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until thickened, but still a little liquid remaining.

Add the cooked pasta  a little pasta water, and toss gently, on medium high heat for approximately. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired. Don’t forget the bread.

When you are busy with things to do or you don’t have much time on your hands, but you know a plate of pasta is just what you need, then this is the Tomato Sauce for you.

How to cook pasta

Always cook the pasta in enough water, you will need 4 cups (1 litre) for 3 1/2 ounces (100 grams) of pasta. Be sure to choose the correct size pot, you don’t want the water to reach the rim and overflow, because pasta, when cooked, can increase in volume up to three times. Always cover the pot when boiling the water, but remove it once the pasta has been added.

Calculate about 7 g of salt for every litre of water. Add the salt only when the water has reached a boil and never before.

After adding the pasta to the pot, bring it back to a boil and keep it at a boil while the pasta is cooking. This allows the pasta to achieve an even cooking, be sure to stir frequently while it is cooking.

Never pass the freshly drained pasta under running tap water. You should never stop the cooking, even when you are making a cold pasta salad, let it cool by adding a drizzle of olive oil to prevent it from sticking.

Drain the pasta al dente, this is done by tasting, if it has a bite to it it’s ready, nothing worse than mushy pasta. If you have to toss the pasta in a pan (like this recipe) then cook it at least 1-2 minutes less (pasta very al dente).

What is also  great about this sauce is anything left on the plate can be scooped up with a piece of bread, nothing better. In Rome it is called “fare la scarpetta”, or “make the little shoe,”  using a small piece of bread mop up the last of the sauce on your plate!

So if you are looking for a quick sauce recipe then I hope you try this Easy Tomato Sauce. And remember don’t forget the bread and  fai la scarpetta! Buon Appetito!

Delicious Tomato Recipes

• Oven Dried Tomatoes
• Easy Italian Fresh Tomato Cheese Pie
• Creamy Tomato Pesto Fettuccine
• Classic Tomato Bruschetta

Updated from January 3, 2018.