Tomato Sauce

Salsa al Pomodoro

Many people ask me how to prepare a tomato sauce. It is so simple that I hadn't thought to publish the recipe, but due to so many requests I think that it is a good idea to post the recipe of a basic tomato sauce.

While in summer we mainly use fresh tomatoes, in the winter we use canned, and we believe that it’s always better to use canned whole tomatoes instead of canned chopped tomatoes or tomato paste. The quality of the whole tomatoes is much higher than the others and also the taste is better. My family and I, like many other Italians, only rarely and only for some specific recipes, use tomato paste or something similar.

Use this sauce for pasta, gnocchi, or meatballs or as you like.

Ingredients:

1 can whole peeled tomatoes, approximately 28 oz. (800 g.)

7 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
Salt, about 1 tsp.
Bunch of fresh basil (optional)

Method:

1. Blend the tomatoes and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and sauté. Add the tomatoes and salt; stir well and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sauce thickens a little. At this point, taste the sauce and add more salt if needed. Then add the basil if you like.