The Only Pasta Sauce Recipe You’ll Ever Need

TOMATO SAUCE FORMULA
A big pot of tomato sauce creates a range of meal possibilities. Siphon off a quart of sauce and simmer it with cauliflower and capers for a satisfying meatless spaghetti dinner. Add a can of evaporated milk and a pinch of nutmeg and baking soda to the second quart of sauce for an almost instant homemade cream of tomato soup: With bread, cheese, and fruit, it makes an easy appealing second meal. Transform the third quart of sauce into a quick chili: Just add it to sautéed onions, peppers, chili powder, and ground meat along with a couple of cans of pinto beans.

If you served spaghetti and tomato sauce three nights in a row, you might get some groans, but as everyone savors pasta one night, soup the next, and a Southwestern classic the following evening, they’ll never suspect the same quick tomato sauce is at the heart of all three very different meals.


This is why you never make just one batch of tomato sauce!

TIPS AND TRICKS

• If using whole tomatoes packed in puree (San Marzano is my favorite), pour them into a big bowl and use your hands to crush them before adding them to the pot.

•Some brands of tomatoes are more acidic than others. Taste your sauce and if it’s too tart, add up to 3 tablespoons sugar to balance or 1 teaspoon baking soda to neutralize some of the acidity in a four-can recipe. With both the sugar and baking soda, start by adding a little, then taste, and add more only as needed.

•Tomato brands also vary in thickness. If after 15 minutes of simmering, your sauce is not thick enough to mound slightly on a spoon, stir in enough tomato paste to achieve desired thickness.

A VAT OF SIMPLE TOMATO SAUCE, GARLICKY OR VEGETABLE

Makes more or less 3 quarts or enough for 3 meals (serving 4)

Whether you flavor the tomatoes with garlic or with celery, carrots, and onions, this sauce will become a kitchen staple. 

INGREDIENTS:

.5 cup Olive oil

12 large Garlic cloves, minced, or 2 medium-large onions

2 Carrots and 2 celery stalks, cut into small dice

1 tsp Red pepper flakes

4 cans (28 ounces each) Crushed tomatoes or whole tomatoes packed in puree (not juice!)

1 cup Red or white wine or water

Salt and ground black pepper

1 can (6 ounces) Tomato paste*

DIRECTIONS:

FOR GARLICKY TOMATO SAUCE (A): Heat the oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in a large pot over medium-high heat until the garlic starts to sizzle, just a couple of minutes.

FOR VEGETABLE TOMATO SAUCE (B): Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and pepper flakes and cook until vegetables soften, 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes. Use the wine or water to rinse out the cans and add to the pot. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until the sauce thickens and the flavors meld, about 15 minutes. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add enough tomato paste so that you’ve made a thick, full-bodied sauce, not soup (see Note). Simmer to blend the flavors, a few minutes longer. Cool the sauce and divide it among 3 sealed containers. (Can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or frozen for several months.)

*NOTE: If using canned crushed tomatoes, you may not need any tomato paste. If using San Marzano whole tomatoes packed in puree, you will likely use the whole can of paste.