Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce
Aubrie Pick
Carolyn Federman, author of the kid-tested New Favorites for New Cooks (Ten Speed Press, $20), gave us this richly flavored sauce. It’s superb on everything from meatballs to pasta to pizza—and couldn’t be simpler. Just avoid making it in an aluminum pan; the metal will react with the acid in the tomatoes and make your sauce taste funny.
How to Make It
1
Trim and discard ends of garlic cloves. Peel garlic and cut into slices about as thick as a quarter.
2
Pour tomatoes with all their juices into a large bowl and, using your (well-washed) hands, crush into small chunks. Throw away any hard stem ends.
3
Pour ¼ cup oil into the frying pan and place over medium heat. Add garlic and a couple of pinches of salt, and stir. Let garlic warm up and become fragrant—about 1 minute—but don’t let it brown. When you start to smell the garlic, pour in tomatoes with all the juice.
4
Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ¼ cup olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, the pepper, and basil sprigs. Turn heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Turn off stove. Fish out and discard basil.
5
Use sauce as is, or, for a smooth texture, let it cool 5 minutes, then transfer carefully to a blender and purée on low for 30 seconds, holding down lid with a towel to prevent splattering.
MAKE AHEAD Up to 3 days, chilled airtight.
Ingredients
12 garlic cloves
2 28-oz. cans whole peeled tomatoes
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
About 1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
2 sprigs fresh basil
Directions
1
Trim and discard ends of garlic cloves. Peel garlic and cut into slices about as thick as a quarter.
2
Pour tomatoes with all their juices into a large bowl and, using your (well-washed) hands, crush into small chunks. Throw away any hard stem ends.
3
Pour ¼ cup oil into the frying pan and place over medium heat. Add garlic and a couple of pinches of salt, and stir. Let garlic warm up and become fragrant—about 1 minute—but don’t let it brown. When you start to smell the garlic, pour in tomatoes with all the juice.
4
Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ¼ cup olive oil, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, the pepper, and basil sprigs. Turn heat to medium-high, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Turn off stove. Fish out and discard basil.
5
Use sauce as is, or, for a smooth texture, let it cool 5 minutes, then transfer carefully to a blender and purée on low for 30 seconds, holding down lid with a towel to prevent splattering.
MAKE AHEAD Up to 3 days, chilled airtight.
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