Have you ever heard of the expression less is more? Well it applies to food as well. The tomato sauce I have been making for years is beyond simple. But it certainly is delightful. Add pasta, meatballs (if you like), a wonderful side salad, a nice bottle of wine and voila…you have a delicious dinner! Not only is it divine, but your home will smell as though you’ve been cooking for hours. Love that!

The recipe is as follows:

1 – 28 oz. can of crushed/strained tomatoes; you can use whatever brand you have available, but my favorite is either Contadina or Pomi. The sauce turns out thick and flavorful.
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (more if you like)
¼ cup olive oil
½ – 12 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, pureed

Heat oil on medium, add chopped garlic and cook quickly, no more than 30 seconds. You want the aroma of the garlic to come through. Do not let garlic turn brown, as it will taste bitter and ruin your sauce. Add tomatoes slowly, the oil will be hot and will splatter. Then add in the pureed red peppers and stir frequently until sauce begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot slightly, cook for about 30 minutes, undercover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. I use my 2-qt All-Clad saucepan for this and love how deep the pot is – it helps with splattering.

Cook your choice of pasta – make sure you don’t overcook. Pasta is best served el dente. To prevent pasta from sticking toss lightly with olive oil.

For this dinner we selected a 2011 bottle of Il Tarocco Chianti Classico, which was an excellent choice as it had nice earthy undertones. As Mike and I savored dinner, all I envisioned was the two of us sitting in a little Italian café. Enjoy!