my go to red sauce

For those times when you truly want fresh tomato sauce, but haven't the time to boil, crush, mix, puree your own tomatoes--I always go for the San Marzano canned tomatoes. 
If you haven't tried cooking with these you must.
It will give you a little inside taste of what tasting fresh tomatoes from Italy tastes like.
They are a bit pricey, but from time to time I've seen Whole Foods have sales on them, and that is when  I stock up.
Hands down, these tomatoes are the best--so sweet, never bitter.
Mix them with fresh herbs, a little garlic, salt, pepper, maybe a little heat and you're good to go.
I'd like to share with you my "go to" red sauce, it has a tiny amount of heavy cream in it to bring it all together.
Feel free to add or take away what you like or don't like; it's a great base recipe for customizing it to your own tastes.
And as you'll notice we don't put cheese on this sauce; the flavor of the san marzano tomatoes are just so good, so sweet, that cheese takes away from that.
But feel free to customize this sauce to your own likings.

This paste goes a long way, it's very strong, so you only need a little bit.



This recipe makes just enough for about a pound of pasta.
Does it freeze? I have no idea.
I highly suggest saving a little bit for a homemade pizza--delish.

dawns red sauce

print recipe

1 can (28 oz.) san marzano crushed tomatoes (drained, reserve some of the liquid)

1 TB (or more) San marzano tomato paste

3-4 TB extra virgin olive oil

hand full fresh basil, chopped

hand full fresh parsley, plus more for garnish

fresh oregano (half a hand full) or 1 TB dried

2-3 TB fresh garlic

1 – 1 ½ TB heavy cream

1-2 TB fresh pepper flakes

salt & pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat up the olive oil, add in the garlic, sauté a bit.

Add in the red pepper flakes, heat through (1-2 minutes).

Add in the tomato paste, stir through.

Add in the drained crushed tomatoes.

Heat this through.

Then add in all your herbs and a pinch of salt & pepper.

Heat this through and taste-test—see what it needs.

Might need more salt or pepper or need more oregano.

Let it sauté a bit over medium to low heat.

If the sauce it too thick for you, add in some of the reserved liquid from the crushed tomatoes. (I like my sauce thick).

When ready to serve, add in about 1 to 1 ½ TB of heavy cream, heat through.

Serves enough sauce for almost a pound of pasta.