When it comes to making an easy dinner, you can’t go wrong with a simple spaghetti. In general, some kind of pasta dish with a sauce is an easy thing to whip up if we’re just trying to get something done. Still, a basic spaghetti is only as good as its ingredients—and although they’re convenient, not all jars of tomato sauce are created equal. The question is: if you had to make a delicious, homemade Italian tomato sauce, could you do it?
If you have any doubts, not to worry—we have an absolutely delicious recipe for just that reason. What’s more is that the recipe is still super simple and super convenient, but it will definitely bring a whole new life to any Italian pasta dishes you may choose to make. Here’s what you’re going to need:
- 1 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 a white onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced finely
- 4 medium garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of fresh basil, chopped finely
- 1/4 cup of Italian parsley, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of pepper
- fresh parmesan (optional)
Here’s what you do:
1. First, heat up some olive oil in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Once it’s warm, throw in your carrots, onions, salt and pepper and sauté the mixture until the onions start to turn translucent and the carrots get soft. Throw in your garlic and cook for about two minutes (or until the garlic browns slightly).
2. At this point, you can turn the heat up to high and pour in your crushed tomatoes. Stir in your basil as well and bring the entire thing to a boil, frequently stirring it to incorporate and keep it from burning. At that point, mix in your sugar and lower the heat so that it can simmer for five to seven minutes. Feel free to adjust the temperature as needed so that the entire thing can thicken.
3. After that, throw in your parsley and keep simmering for about five more minutes. Finally, you can take your sauce off of the head and give it a taste. Feel free to add salt and pepper as necessary until it tastes just right. Now, it’s ready to toss with some pasta! Once it’s all done, feel free to grate in some fresh parmesan as well.
As you can see, this recipe has a few surprise vegetables in it but it remains very simple to throw together. Although the recipe calls for canned tomatoes to make your life a little easier, definitely be careful when choosing these! A good tip is to experiment with a few different brands of canned Roma tomatoes. When you open a can, dip your finger in it and taste it. If it tastes sour or you don’t like it for any other reason, it may not be the best thing to use for a pasta sauce.
Of course, the ultimate way to make a fresh and zesty Italian tomato sauce is to actually mash your own tomatoes if you have the time. If you’re really feeling ambitious, you can do that with around 15 cored Roma tomatoes and a few tablespoons of olive oil. You can throw them in a pot and set it all over medium heat to let your tomatoes break down. It’ll take several hours and some careful seasoning, but if you want to go all in this is always an option as well. If you’re not feeling overly ambitious, just stick with the normal version above and you’ll be good to go.
As always, have fun and let us know how it goes in the comments below!
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