Simple Spicy Tomato Sauce



Call it spaghetti gravy. Call it spaghetti sauce. Whatever you call it, you should know how to make it! Considering our title here at “sop up the gravy”, we thought it only appropriate to kick things off with this comfort-food staple. You’ll never buy the jarred juice again.

Simple Spicy Tomato Sauce

2 28-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

6 fresh large basil leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground oregano

3 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

Strain the tomatoes over a large bowl and set both the juice and tomatoes aside. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or pot; add the garlic, red pepper, and half of the chopped basil, and cook on low heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until the garlic starts to turn golden. Add the tomato juice and simmer for a few minutes until you can see the sauce start to thicken. Add the tomatoes, the remainder of the basil, and the oregano, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the sauce is boiling, turn the heat to low, add the parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Stir the sauce occasionally, and crush the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Simmer for at least 45 minutes. If necessary add sugar, a 1/4 teaspoon at a time, to taste. (Note, if you have the time and gumption to seed the tomatoes after straining, you might not need sugar at all. Tomato seeds are bitter, but sugar is a simple contrast.)

Boom sauce!