Perfect Pomodoro Sauce Recipes

SUGO DI POMODORO (AUTHENTIC ITALIAN TOMATO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a saucepan over low heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook and stir until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add passata, basil, and salt. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tomato sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove garlic halves before serving.

PERFECT POMODORO SAUCE WITH CAPELLINI

Steps:

• 1 Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat
• 2 Once the oil shimmers, add the garlic (to taste), salt and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant but not burned, 30 seconds to 1 minute
• 3 (If you burn the garlic, use a slotted spoon to scoop it out of the oil and proceed; if you leave it in, it will ruin the sauce
• 4 ) Add the tomatoes and their juices and the sugar; cook until reduced and thickened, 15 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, depending on the juiciness of the tomatoes
• 5 Taste, and add more salt and/or sugar, as needed
• 6 While the sauce is cooking, prepare the pasta: Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil over medium-high heat
• 7 Add the pasta and cook until just under-done, about 1 minute before the cooking time recommended in the package directions
• 8 Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water
• 9 Return the pasta to its (now empty) pot
• 10 Check on your sauce
• 11 If you like it chunky, leave it as is
• 12 Or pulse it a few times using an immersion (stick) blender, to make it smoother
• 13 Stir in the chopped basil and butter
• 14 Pour into the cooked capellini; use tongs to incorporate it and coat the pasta
• 15 Let the capellini finish cooking in the sauce over medium heat until just tender, 1 to 2 minutes
• 16 Taste, and add a little more salt, as needed
• 17 If the sauce has become too thick, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved pasta cooking water at a time until you like the consistency
• 18 Serve right away, garnished with a few basil leaves, if desired

PERFECT POMODORO SAUCE

Steps:

• Start off by mincing the onions. They must be as small as possible. Set aside in a bowl.
• Mince the garlic, then form a garlic paste.
• **Note** To form a garlic paste, mince garlic, add some sea or kosher salt and olive oil, and use the back end of a chef's knife to work the garlic into a paste.
• For the whole tomatoes, remove each tomato by hand and place into a food processor. Leave puree in the can. Pulse the tomatoes until crushed, leaving some texture. Strain through a fine mesh sieve - you'll remove about 1 cup of water. Discard the water and add crushed tomatoes back to puree in the can. Set aside.
• In a sauce pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic for about 3-5 minutes, or until garlic begins to smell like it's roasted. It should just start to be taking on color. This step is very important and one where you have to go by the smell rather than the color of the garlic. Once you begin to smell that roasted garlic smell, the onion/garlic is ready. Stir constantly.
• Add tomato paste and stir, cooking the paste for 1 minute.
• Add wine and stir. The wine should instantly thicken, due to the tomato paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes. It is not necessary to reduce.
• Reduce heat to medium/low.
• Add red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir and cook briefly for 1 minute.
• Add the tomatoes you pureed and the crushed tomatoes. Stir, cover pot and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Sauce can be cooked longer, but I prefer a more vibrant tomato taste. The longer you cook it, the more rich the tomato flavor will become. This is totally personal preference. After 20 minutes, my pasta water is boiling away and I start cooking the pasta.
• When your pasta is finished cooking, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. I always add at least 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the sauce. It helps the sauce stick to the pasta.
• Tips on pasta - never, never, never, never add oil to the water and never rinse your cooked pasta. The pasta can be drained and added directly to the sauce, or add your drained pasta to a bowl and toss with 1 cup of your tomato sauce.
• Add basil to sauce right before serving, as basil looses it's flavor immediately from the heat. Also do a final seasoning adjustment, if necessary right before serving. I like to add a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil and an extra pinch of red pepper flakes.
• I cannot stress enough the steps are important, and this generally takes me 15 minutes max to put together -- but all ingredients are personal choice. Add more or less of whatever you like.

PERFECT MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Grate the onion, set aside (will include a lot of juice, or water).
• Mince the garlic very finely, put the salt and olive oil onto it, and with the back end of a chef's knife, work the garlic into a paste.
• ** Alternative, or if you don't know how to do this, just mince the garlic and onions as finely as you can.
• In a large bowl, add the meat, onion, garlic, egg, bread crumbs, parm cheese, basil, pesto, 3 tbsp olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Mix by hand just to combine - do not work it too much.
• Form into balls between the size of a golf ball and a large egg, not working the meat too much. Make as much as you can, about 11-12 and put on a plate.
• Heat the 4 tbsp olive oil on high heat in a saute pan.
• Brown the meatballs on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
• Place the already prepared pomodoro sauce in a crock pot, or a large pot on the stove, and carefully add the meatballs.
• Cook for at least 3 hours on low (I cook mine for around 6 hours in a crock pot), stirring occasionally.

SPICY POMODORO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and allow it to sizzle in the oil for 30 seconds.
• Add the shallot and red Fresno chili pepper. Tilt the pan toward you and base the aromatics in oil for 1-2 minutes until very fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
• Add the tomatoes to the oil and stir to incorporate. Add a big pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes until thickened and reduced. Add a splash of water, if necessary, if the tomatoes stick or reduce too quickly. Taste and season to your preferences.
• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Scoop out 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside.
• Drain the spaghetti and set aside. Note: Time this so the sauce has finished simmering before the spaghetti is done cooking.
• Add half of the reserved pasta cooking water to the tomato sauce and stir to incorporate. Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until completely smooth. Taste and season to your preferences.
• Add the spaghetti to the sauce and toss to coat. Add more of the pasta cooking water, as necessary, to loosen up the sauce and to help the sauce stick to the spaghetti. Turn off the heat.
• Divide the spaghetti between plates and serve with your choice of garnishes, such as fresh basil, parsley, or grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

POMODORO SAUCE

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, saute garlic and onion in oil for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and herbs, continue to cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Serve with cheese and herb ravioli.