FRESH TOMATO SAUCE

By bjnelson55

The best tomato sauce recipes consist of nothing more than garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, herbs, and salt. With that philosophy in mind, we set out to develop a fresh tomato sauce recipe that capitalized on this list of ingredients. We found that starting the oil and garlic in the pan at the same time prevented the garlic from burning, and peeling the tomatoes (but keeping their seeds) was a must.

Ingredients

• 2 1 cups, enough for 1 pound of pasta
• Ingredients
• 3 3 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 4 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 2 4 to 3/4-inch beefsteak tomatoes (about 4 large), cored, peeled (see related How to Cook), and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• Table salt
• 1/4 1/4 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• Ground black pepper

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

Stir oil and garlic together in large skillet. Turn heat to medium and cook until garlic is sizzling and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, reducing heat if sauce begins to stick to bottom of pan, until thickened and chunky, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

TOMATO SAUCE FOR THE FREEZER:
For a taste of summer in the dead of winter, make a double batch of sauce and freeze half (or all) of it. Double the ingredients, increasing the cooking time to about 30 minutes. Cool the sauce completely. Transfer to a 2-cup freezersafe container. Press a layer of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce, cover, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the microwave or in the refrigerator overnight.