Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce – Versatile and Vegan!
This past Sunday I was making my fresh tomato sauce as I do every Sunday, when it was finished cooking I handed a piece of Italian Ciabatta bread with my freshly made tomato sauce on top to my oldest son, and at that moment I realized I had become my mother! My mom used to do the same for me growing up when she finished her tomato sauce – and there is nothing better than fresh tomato sauce over a piece of delicious Italian Ciabatta bread! And …becoming my mother would be amazing – everyone adored her – she was a unique woman who was so generous – I wish we had more people like that on Earth.
My mom was an amazing cook – not because she went to school for cooking, but because she loved the joy of preparing meals for her family and friends. Our house was constantly open to company coming over for dinner and both of my parents enjoyed that environment! Of course, growing up as a teenager I remember wishing for some quiet moments in the evening at home, but no, it was always full of people – whether it was friends or family, there were always additional people at the dinner table in our house! This, of course, meant there was a lot of cooking going on at all times!
I still make my tomato sauce every Sunday because it is delicious and versatile. You will always find a Cuisinart container in my refrigerator with tomato sauce that was made on Sunday – my kids can always count on it!
The best part is that once my tomato sauce is done and in the refrigerator, I can make so many dishes from there during the week! For instance, I can boil some pasta in a quick 7 minutes and have a delicious pasta dinner on the table for the kids on Monday, then on Tuesday I can make breaded chicken cutlets and use my tomato sauce and some mozzarella cheese to make chicken parmigiana! On Wednesday I can use that same tomato sauce to make delicious stuffed shells with creamy ricotta cheese! And so on and so on.
The point is that once you have fresh tomato sauce – dinner is in a snap! The super-simple authentic Italian recipe below will have you appreciate making a fresh tomato sauce that will please your family and that will help you make many delicious dinners throughout the week! And this is perfect for Vegans as well!!
Ingredients
2 – 26.46-ounce packages of Pomi Strained Tomatoes
Half a Shallot onion – chopped1/4 cup of Pompeiian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Basil leaves1 1/2 tablespoons of Bailene Sea Salt Fine
Procedure
Begin by coating the bottom of your pan with olive oil. Then finely chop 1/2 a Shallot onion and add to the olive oil. Turn the heat on low and continue to stir around the onion so it doesn’t burn – let the onion cook until it is clear. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Once the onion is clear add two 26.46 ounce packages of Pomi Strained Tomatoes. Add 2 Basil leaves, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of Bailene Sea Salt Fine – then stir. Make sure the heat is on low and allow to simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. Letting the tomatoes cook on low heat for a long period of time (45 minutes to an hour) will bring out the natural sugar in the tomatoes and the sauce will taste that much better!
Once the tomato sauce is cooked pass it to an airtight container like my Tupperware and use is all week for delicious dinners that are half done before you even get started! Hint: In a pinch when I’m late from work in the evening – I cook Barilla penne pasta in 7 minutes.