What’s for Dinner
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 Lately, I have been struggling to come up with dinner ideas. This is partially due to the fact that I’ve banned Connor and I from buying additional groceries (besides bare essentials) in the effort not to have more stuff to bring to our new apartment next week. The pantry is slowly dwindling and there is not much I can make with things like canned tuna, kalamata olives, mustard, a neglected can of chickpeas, and pureed pumpkin. Can’t even imagine.
Pretty sad, no? Maybe I should consider removing the ban…
But one dish that I can always turn to when I have no clue what to make or just don’t feel like going to the grocery store, is one of my absolute favorites: Pasta with Homemade Tomato Sauce. This might sound boring to you, but I promise, it is incredibly tasty and puts a smile on my face every time I make it. Simple can often times be the best, at least in my experience.
Since it was always my favorite meal at home growing up, I learned to make it basically as soon as I could reach the stove. I consider using store-bought sauce pretty blasphemous at this point. I just find that it can never compare, is too sweet, or has a packaged onion-y flavor. Not to mention, homemade sauce can be put together in only 20-30 minutes.
You see, I always have canned tomatoes (Pomi preferably—no endorsement, it’s just my favorite), dried oregano, bay leaves, and dried pasta lying around. I also always have Parmigiano-Reggiano in my fridge, it is something I could not live without! I would rather give up cable than that cheese. Seriously. I blame this on my Italian heritage.
I’ve made a few minor tweaks to my family’s recipe over the years, but it has pretty much stayed true to the original my mom passed on to me so long ago.
If you’re ever looking for a great dinner meal, look no further. This is the best tomato sauce I have yet to encounter. Enjoy!
Homemade Tomato Sauce
Makes Enough for 1 Pound of Pasta
2 - 28 ounce cans diced tomatoes (Pomi brand, preferably)
2-3 tablespoons tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 dried or fresh bay leaves
2-3 tablespoons dried oregano
extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
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Using large saucepan, heat enough olive oil to lightly cover the bottom of the pan over medium heat.
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Once oil is warm, add chopped garlic, stirring continuously for 30 seconds, making sure that the garlic does not brown (this is essential).
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Add bay leaves and half of the dried oregano to the pan and stir continuously for a minute.
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Add canned tomatoes, stir together and bring to low simmer. Add in the rest of the oregano and canned paste and stir to combine.
- Simmer sauce for 25-45 minutes. This will add a lot of flavor and allow the sauce to thicken!
- Prepare pasta according to directions. Drain pasta well, return to pot, coat with olive oil, and add sauce (you can choose to add all or leave a little to spoon over each serving, which I like).
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan (the really good stuff)!
**Some Italians say that you should coat the pasta with a little bit of butter and olive oil, but I read recently that you should use the type of fat that the sauce was made with. Therefore, pastas with cream sauces (based in butter) should have butter added to the pasta, and tomato sauces made with olive oil, should be coated with olive oil once cooked**
**I will sometimes reserve a little bit of the pasta water (1/2-3/4 cup) to thin the sauce down once I mix it with the pasta. The pasta water also has starch which will allow the sauce to cling and coat the pasta well**
I made this pasta on the first night in this apartment. It makes me feel at home no matter where I am. In fact, right now I have a pot of it cooking on the stove ready to be devoured with pasta soon…
Dinner accomplished.
Reader Comments (8)
Simple tomato sauces are my favorite! I love chunky tomato sauces. My own recipe comes very similar to the one you use. I've never tried bay leaves so I'll have to try and give that a go. Though I admit I can't resist and end up melting a few tablespoons of butter into the sauce instead of olive oil. It may not be as healthy but the flavor is to die for.
That sauce looks SO good! When I was little, I couldn't stand anything with chunks, but now I feel so unsatisfied with thin/totally pureed sauces.
Good luck with the move!
I adore homemade tomato sauce and I've never needed to buy the canned sauce. In my family, my Nonna makes tens of dozens of jars of her homemade sauce every year from several bushels of tomatoes, and she sends them over to us. It's great! I've never tried making it myself, but your sauce looks beautiful and very flavorful!
Mine too! Bay leaves add a nice touch, but I have to say, I use them more out of tradition than necessity, now that I think about it. They do add flavor though! </p><p>Hmm, I'm sure the butter addition tastes very good.
I used to be a very picky eater as a kid (not when it came to vegetables or anything), but basically all I ever wanted to eat was pasta. Thank god I got over that stage, even if I still love it. I feel very unsatisfied with pureed sauces too! I've bought some pureed tomato by accident and hated it--I felt like there was no texture! </p><p>Thanks so much!
I called my (late) grandfather Nonno! You are clearly Italian :) That sounds incredible, can she send me a few jars too? I can imagine you always having enough on hand. You should definitely try to be homemade at some point, it's great. Although I'm sure your grandmother's is hard to beat! </p><p>Thanks for visiting Nicole!
Homemade tomato sauce is so yummy! I usually add some brown sugar in my tomato sauce!