A simple, traditional Italian tomato sauce gently simmered with onion, garlic, olive oil, and basil, designed to coat pasta without drowning it.
Ingredients
- 800 g whole peeled canned tomatoes, ideally San Marzano AOP
- 1 piece yellow onion
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 sprigs fresh basil
- to taste fine sea salt
Method
- Drain the tomatoes slightly over a bowl, reserving their juice. Put them in a mixing bowl and crush them by hand or with a fork until you have an uneven pulp, with a few pieces still visible.
- Peel the onion and slice it very finely. Peel the garlic, lightly crush it with the flat of a knife, then chop it without reducing it to a purée.
- Heat a wide, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil, then the onion with a pinch of salt. Sweat gently for 8 to 10 minutes, without browning, until the onion is translucent, soft, and smells slightly sweet.
- Add the garlic and stir for about 1 minute, just until it perfumes the oil. It should smell fragrant and remain blond; if it browns, the sauce will turn bitter.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and their reserved juice. Stir, scraping the bottom of the saucepan well, then bring to a gentle simmer: the surface should move softly, without large bubbles.
- Lower the heat to the minimum and simmer uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes. Stir from time to time with a wooden spoon. The sauce is ready when it has thickened, the oil begins to bead slightly on the surface, and a spoon leaves a brief trail on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Add the fresh basil at the end of cooking, then let it infuse for a few minutes off the heat. Taste and adjust the salt. Remove the basil stems if they are too tough.
- To serve with pasta, cook it very al dente in well-salted water, then finish it directly in the saucepan with the sauce over medium heat. Add a little pasta cooking water if needed: the sauce should become glossy and cling to the pasta, without remaining liquid at the bottom of the pan.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 154.5 kcal
- Protein
- 2.42 g
- Carbohydrate
- 9.97 g
- Fat
- 11.67 g
- Fibre
- 3.45 g
- Calcium
- 45.88 mg
- Iron
- 1.62 mg
- Magnesium
- 19.82 mg
