Does anyone know how to make a real good tomato sauce for pasta?

Question

Preferably an Italian recipe. No smart alleck remarks please.

Also, not just tomato sauce. Herbs in it too!

Answer 1

Look, if you've posted a question here, I assume that you can look up a recipe on the net. With that in mind, I'm going to pressume that what you are really looking for is a real recipe, tried and true, and not some copy and paste job from another site from someone who screws up microwave pop-corn.

Here's my recipe.

4 cans of San Marzano tomatoes, peeled. If San Marzanos not available, go for regular tomatoes.
2 cans tomato paste (I prefer the tomato paste in a tube but hard to find and pricier).
garlic to taste (4 cloves crushed for me)
1/4 med white or yellow onion
salt
oregano
olive oil
pepper flakes 1 tbs.
basil
2 bay (laurel) leaves
On a big pot, pour 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil. Once warm, add crushed garlic and onion and sweat. Stir until soft and translucent (do not brown, it will have a burnt aftertaste). Add pepper flakes and stir until they are aromatic and release some color.

Open your tomatoes. If they are crushed, great. If not, crush them. Add tomatoes to pot. stir and mix everything. Add tomato paste to taste. Tomato paste will sweeten the sauce, so add little by little until it suits you. Add bay leaves.

Bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, add oregano. 2 tbs works for me, again, what suits you. Lower heat (med low) and allow to slowly simmer. Tilt lid so that corner is uncovered and allows steam to escape and evaporate. Let it cook for about 30 - 45 minutes. Now the flavors have all mingled and you can add salt to taste.

Simmer slowly until the liquids have reduced and you reach the consistency that you want for your sauce. Stir every once in a while so it won't stick on the bottom. You can add more of any of the ingredients to suit your taste during this process.

Now you can finally add the chopped basil (if you add the basil before, it just loses it's flavor). Cook for another 10 - 15 minutes and you have a marinara.

Have fun cooking.

BTW - in Italy, we use canned tomatoes for pasta sauce because fresh aren't around all the time and vary greatly in taste.

Answer 2

Im an expert at this sauce!

My Homemade Pasta Sauce (like Mama would make)

Tools

1 very large pot with a lid
A long wooden cooking spoon

12 very ripe red tomatoes (or vine-ripe), chopped (the tomatoes will need to be sweet, and if they are not sweet enough, you will need to add a cup to 1/2 a cup of white granulated sugar)
5 to 7 (depending on how much you like garlic) garlic cloves, chopped, not minced(you want to see what youre eating)
1 Iarge yellow onion, chopped , or 2 medium
1 package of fresh sliced mushrooms
2 cups FRESHLY chopped parsley
4 bay leaves
4 Tablespoons dried Oregano
4 tablespoons dried basil
4 tablespoons dried sage
salt and black pepper (there is no correct measurement, its to your taste. You will need to taste the sauce fairly often, to judge its flavor)
1 green bell pepper chopped (optional)
2 cups red good wine
Water

Cook your chopped tomatoes, herbs (except for the parsley), garlic, onions, mushrroms in the pot with water just barely covering them. (Do not add the bell pepper at this point).
Put the lid on and let simmer on a low heat for about 3 to 4 hours, check every 1/2 hour or so, for water level. You want the tomatoes to break down and get thick. Stir quite often.
At each 1/2 hour, taste, add more seasonings to your taste, as you cook.

At the end of the time when your tomatoes are broken down, and getting thick, take off the lid. Cook some more

(If you want the cooking process to go more quickly, blend the tomatoes)

When the sauce has broken down, and is getting thick, add 2 cups of red wine (alcohol cooks out after it boils)

Stir stir stir! LOL. When the sauce is thick enough to your desire, add the fresh parsley and bell pepper, let simmer for another 20 minutes.

This sauce is a pasta sauce, pizza sauce, or dipping sauce. If you want to make less, cut the recipe in 1/2. You can freeze what you dont use, and save it for another time and another dish

Have fun!

Answer 3

Spaghetti Sauce

1/4 c Vegetable oil
1 md Onion; chopped
1/4 c Green bell pepper; chopped
2 Cloves garlic; minced
3 cn (12-oz) tomato paste
6 -(up to)
7 cn Water
1/4 ts Dried oregano
1 ts Dried basil
1 sm Bay leaf
1 tb Sugar
1 1/2 ts Salt
1/4 ts Pepper

Heat oil in a large pot over mediun heat. Saute the onion, green pepper,
and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and water, and
stir until smooth. Add oregano, basil, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper.
Simmer, uncovered for 1-2 hours. Serve over spaghetti.

Variation: For meat sauce, brown 1 pound Italian sausage and 1 pound ground
beef, and add with the spices.

Answer 4

Here's a simple tomato sauce recipe that works on everything - pasta, lasagna, eggplant parmesan, chicken parmesan, etc. Hope you enjoy it :)

Basic Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
4 to 6 basil leaves
2 dried bay leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and bay leaves and simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add half the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.

If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.

Answer 5

This is one of my best recipes:


I like Ragu, but I spice it up a little!

In a pot saute 2 chopped onions and 4 cloves minced garlic in olive oil, add 2 diced green peppers and 1 and 1/2lbs ground beef. Keep stirring so it won't stick. When Ground beef is almost cooked add 1 pkg sliced mushrooms. Allow to simmer 2 minutes. Add 1 family size (64oz?) jar of Ragu tomato sauce (I like the chunky garden style). Add a couple tbsps of oregano, garlic powder, cayenne, sugar and onion powder. Let simmer. Make sure the bottom doesn't stick or burn!!

Answer 6

I know plenty, but the #1 thing that makes a tomato recipe stand out is to use fres tomatoes stewed in their own juices for a while til they are "watery" then add the rest of your ingredients. Never get it from a can.

Answer 7

That's my absolute favorite thing to make.

Chop 3-4 cloves of garlic. USE FRESH not jarred
Chop 1 med. onion
1 Can Tomato Paste
1 Can of good crushed tomatoes (Sclafani if you can get it)
1 Can of whole plum tomatoes w/ juice (Mash it up in a bowl w/ your hands, fun!!)
1/2 C fresh basil (1.5 tsp. if dried)
1/4 C oregano (1 tsp. if dried)
Or a good palmful of Dried ITALIAN SEASONING
1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (hot pepper)
1 tsp. Salt
1 C good red wine (something you'd drink)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Butter

In a large heavy skillet, heat 4 TBSP of Ex. Virg. O. Oil on med. heat. Add 1 TBSP of butter after oil.
Allow oil to get hot, then add garlic & onion together. Stir frequently on med. for about 10 min.
Add Salt & hot pepper
Add herbs, whether fresh or dried, stir for 1 min.
Add Wine. Allow alcohol to cook off, about 3 min. Stir freq.
Add tomato paste. Stir, allowing to melt, for about 3 min.
Add both cans of tomatoes, raise heat to med. high. Stir.
When sauce comes to bubble, lower heat!!
Add more salt if needed.
Cover and simmer on LOW for about 15 min. DONE!!

btw, your house will smell fabulous, too!! :)

Answer 8

Start with fresh tomotoes. Crush them according to how you like them. Some people like chunks, others like a puree. Add sugar, italian seasoning, (basil,oregano, etc) any cooked meat you prefer. I only add hamburger meat after frying it and draining it. You can add wine, but I wouldn't suggest doing that. Cook for atleast 2 hours. You may add cheeses to your sauce after it is almost done. Enjoy and good luck.

Answer 9

ground beef
oignon
laurel
thyme
peeled tomato
garlic
you can add mushroom ,olives whatever you like.
I add a dash of heavy cream at the end so the tomato sauce is smoother.I always cook all the way through the ground beef before I add anything else.

Answer 10

If it were me i just buy it at the store( less pressure on you) :)