When I first moved in with my Italian husband (boyfriend at the time), I knew that I had big shoes to fill when it came to cooking. For years I attempted to make a good clean tomato sauce from scratch that would rival what he was use to. Only when I started using less ingredients and bringing the quality of the few ingredients I did use up, did my tomato sauce really start to come together.
San Marzano tomatoes is the first step to creating a delicious tomato sauce and it can be found in any grocery store in the canned tomato aisle. To me (and I believe to many others) they are the best type of tomato to cook with as they offer such great flavour. I also discovered that good quality olive oil could elevate your sauce to that next level as well. While it’s tempting to go for the less expensive, when it comes to making a tomato sauce, dip into your pantry and pull out the good stuff.
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- The only canned tomatoes you should be using to make sauce with
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- Straight from a organic Tuscan farm. Quality wins every time
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- Bringing out the flavours of the garlic, onion and olive oil
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- Ready for a good simmer
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- End Result
Simple San Marzano Tomato Sauce
Italian cooking is all about bringing life to quality ingredients. A little can go a very long way. Try out this amazingly fresh and simple tomato sauce made from arguably the best tomatoes!
- Prep Time: 20m
- Cook Time: 1h
- Total Time: 1h 20m
- Serves: 6
Ingredients
- Cans of San Marzano Tomatos Packed in Puree (796ml/can)
- 4 tablespoons Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Small/Medium Cooking Onions, diced
- 6 Cloves of Garlic, minced or finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons Salt
Instructions
- Open your 2 cans of San Marzano and roll up your sleeves as its time to get messy! With another medium bowl next to the cans, take out the tomatoes one at a time and break them apart using your hands. I usually take off the top part where the stem was attached and throw it out. Dump the hand crushed tomatoes back into the puree in the can and put aside.
- Pour the Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a med/large pot and put on medium heat.
- Dice up your onions (I usually just throw them in my mini food processor) and once the oil is hot, pour them into the pot. Let them cook for about 5 mins until translucent.
- Add the minced garlic to the pot next, cooking it for another minute. I like my sauce to be garlicky so I use 8 cloves, but if you are looking for a bit more subtle flavour then stick to 6.
- Next add the tomatoes and salt and give it a good stir. Bring it up to a boil and then lower it to a low/medium heat to simmer for about 45mins (could take longer or shorter depending on how watery the canned tomatoes were). Be sure to stir every 5-10 mins so it doesn't burn or get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the sauce has thickened up (shouldn't be a paste, but should not be watery either), remove it from heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as you need. Serve on your favourite pasta!
Jenna
