Simple Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 8 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 10 cups fresh chopped tomatoes

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the olive oil in a large stock pain. Add the onion and salt and cook until very fragrant and soft, about 10 minutes.

2. 2

   Add in the garlic, peppers, tomato paste and water. Whisk until paste is completely smooth, then simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the tomatoes and simmer another 15-20 minutes until tomatoes have broken down and sauce has thickened slightly.

3. 3

   Transfer to a blender (may have to do this in batches) or use an immersion blender and lightly puree; keeping some texture with a relatively smooth sauce.

4. 4

   Return back to the pot and taste, adding more salt as needed. Serve-- see below for tips on how to use this.