My favorite pizza place in my hometown puts this incredible sauce on their Greek-style pizzas (which are perfect). I’ve been attempting to make this hearty red sauce for awhile, and well, I think I’ve got it.
The biggest tip I can give to any aspiring cook, is don’t rush any sauce.
Yes, in a short time, you can get something that hits the spot when you’re in a rush, but you miss out on the levels of flavor, the deep body of sauces and gravies that take time to create.
Not to mention, going slow means you put a lot of time and care, and you can taste the love (as my grandmother would say).
This hearty red sauce goes well in pasta (like this one-pan spaghetti), on pizza, as a dip, or as a base to make creamier sauces.
To make this hearty red sauce, you can get all the ingredients at your regular supermarket. However, of course if you buy them from local stores/farmers markets/international specialty stores, they taste even better. Here’s what you need:
- San marzano tomatoes: I got this giant can from my supermarket
- High quality EVOO: I like Cobram Estate or Lucini
- Fresh garlic and herbs: fresh is best but also freeze-dried herbs are great for storage!
- A medium bodied wine, like Pinot Noir: anything earthy with a mild berry note
- Onions, red pepper flakes, fresh ground black pepper, salt: you know the drill
This sauce takes a couple of hours to make, but again, slow means you get to really develop all of the flavors in this sauce.
Hearty red sauce is made in a large batch, but you can portion off into old sauce jars and freeze for a few months! Enjoy 🙂
Hearty Red Sauce
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 7-8 garlic cloves finely minced
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 90 oz San Marzano tomatoes peeled
- ½ cup fresh or freeze dried basil chopped fine
- ¼ cup fresh or freeze dried parsley chopped fine
- ½ cup fresh or dry oregano chopped fine
- 1 tbsp ground black peppercorns
- 1-2 tbsp brown sugar optional
- ⅓ cup pinot noir or another medium bodied red wine
- Salt as needed
Directions
- Prep + chop all ingredients, set aside.
- Heat a large pot on the lowest heat. Add EVOO, and let this heat up slowly.
- Add in your garlic and red pepper flakes. The garlic should not fry or burn, it should slowly simmer in the oil to infuse it, and soften accordingly.You can check if your oil is too hot by dropping a small piece of garlic in. If it starts to sizzle too fast, your oil is too hot. If it only slowly sizzles, you're good to go.
- Mix your garlic and red pepper flakes slowly, as the oil infuses and turns an orange-red, and the raw garlic smell leaves.
- Once you get to this point, add in your chopped onions. Saute until translucent.
- Now, add in your San Marzano tomatoes by hand, crushing each as you add it in. You can also dump the can in and crush with your spatula. Make sure you add all the extra tomato water as well, not just the tomatoes.
- Add in your herbs, black pepper, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Mix well, and cover. Allow this sauce to come to a gentle simmer/boil, and mix every 10-15 minutes.
- After an hour, check the taste and smell. It will still be slightly raw and sour. You can add in the brown sugar at this time, which will help enhance the sweetness of the tomatoes. Simmer for another 30 minutes.Generally, higher quality tomatoes are naturally sweet. If you are using specialty tomatoes that are produced in small batches, you won't need the sugar.
- After the 30 minutes are up, check again for salt, and then add in the wine. Mix well, and let this simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
- Your sauce is done when it tastes slightly sweet, is glossy and smells cooked (you'll know). A sure way to tell it's done is if you mix and the sauce stays together as one thick and rich gravy, rather than separating into different ingredients.
- Serve with your favorite pasta, use as a topping for pizza, or let cool completely and jar to share with friends or freeze for later!