WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The best tomato sauce recipes are pure, quick, and simple, consisting of nothing more than tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt, a bit of sugar, and pepper. With that philosophy in mind, we set out to develop a fresh tomato sauce recipe that capitalized on this list of ingredients. We found that cooking the garlic in the oil for a minute or two prevented it from burning. The tomatoes, which we cooked for just 10 minutes, broke down readily and thickened slightly, just enough to ably coat the pasta. The success of this recipe depends on using ripe, in-season tomatoes. If you’re using exceptionally sweet tomatoes, omit the sugar
MAKES: 4 cups; enough for 1 pound pasta
TOTAL TIMES: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar (optional)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cook oil and garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and sugar, if using.
- Increase heat to medium-high and cook until tomatoes are broken down and sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve.
