The Perfect Tomato Sauce

By west757

Fabio gives us his tricks & tips on using tomatoes and creates a flavorful, super-simple marinara sauce with fresh garlic and canned tomatoes.

Tips and secrets in episode:

• Slice tomatoes with a very sharp knife to keep in the juices
• How to refresh overripe tomatoes
• For sauce, 90% of the time canned is better because it contains more flavor. Use canned variety packed in tomato juice not water.
• Crush the tomatoes yourself as one of the last steps to maintain deep flavor.
• Prepare an Italian tomato sauce with olive oil. When the oil starts to turn red in color the sauce is finished cooking.
Cook's Note: The sauce is very versatile and can be used with any pasta; added to meats, fish, vegetables; or topped on toasted crostini, breads, pizza crusts.

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic
• 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 28 oz can of whole plum tomatoes (packed in only tomato juice)
• salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 3-4 leaves fresh basil for garnish

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 5mins
Cooking time 15mins
Adapted from shine.yahoo.com

Preparation

Step 1

Smash 6 cloves of garlic with the back of a knife.

Over medium heat, cook garlic in 3 Tbsp. of EVOO until golden brown.

Add tomatoes and generous pinch of salt and pepper.

Cook until thick (about 8 to 10 minutes) and is no longer watery in consistency.

Add 3 more Tbsp. more of EVOO, turn to higher heat.

Crush tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon.

Cook until the oil turns red. This will tell you the sauce is done!