simple homemade pasta sauce
June 19, 2009
a simple pasta sauce whipped up in your own kitchen using as few as 5 main ingredients.
There is nothing more refreshing then a homemade pasta sauce. Don’t get me wrong as I have no problem with jar pasta sauces. But sometime I just crave that fresh, chunky tomato and thinner texture which can be so easily achieved homemade. The trade secret here is canned tomatoes! The reason being that canned tomatoes yield a sweeter tomato dish compared to your freshly picked or store bought tomatoes, no matter how ripe they are. This recipe keeps to the simple, quick and light. excellent for the hungry professionals coming home to a stomach growling for something fresh and tasty right away.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 an onion chopped (I used brown but feel free to use any other)
- 2 cloves garlic (pressed or diced)
- choice of vegetables (1/2 of a cauliflower as pictured or 1 zucchini. just something solid and not wilty. chop’em up baby.)
- 1 canned whole peeled tomatoes (regular sized can, 15 oz usually)
- several sprigs of fresh basil (really up to you)
- dried parsley
- dried red pepper flakes
- pepper and salt to taste
- freshly grated parmesan cheese (or any cheese you choose)
- olive oil
- 1 tsp of sugar
Now let’s get cookin:
1. heat the pan, then give it 2 turns of the pan of olive oil. (try to use regular olive oil as it has a higher smoking point than extra virgins)
2. toss in the garlic and onions, lower the heat to medium. cook until fragrant and the onions becomes slightly caramelized.
3. add in the vegetables and saute them for 1 minute.
4. pour in the canned tomatoes. fill the can 1/4 of the way with water and pour it into the pan. use the spatula to roughly crush and cut up the tomatoes.
5. add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
6. add several dashes of dried parsley. enough so you can see specks of them evenly.
7. let the concoction reduce.
8. when you see the sauce starts to thicken up and the vegetables are softened, add in the sugar. taste it and add more if you like it sweeter.
9. toss in the basil for your final touches and flavor.
10. cook your favorite pasta to al dente. pictured here is ravioli.
11. pour sauce over your pasta, top with your choice of cheese. parmesan works exceptionally well with tomato sauce.
12. smell it, taste it and enjoy it.
total prep-time 10 min, cook time 10 min, yields 3-4 servings.
tips:
- if you do not have fresh garlic on hand, as i often do not, feel free to substitute with garlic powder. use garlic powder sparingly as they can become over powering.
- use a food mill if you like your pasta sauce nice and smooth.
- always saute the onions first, and let it caramelize a little bit. this allows the onions to yield a sweeter taste and not so oniony.