Garlic Tomato Sauce

Merry Christmas!  I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas.  I am at home visiting family.  It has been a marvelous break.  The time has gone by too quickly, of course.  I made and ate this tomato sauce the week before leaving.

The original recipe came from Emeril Lagasse, but I made a few changes, of course.  This is a simple recipe, but it requires a good deal of time to simmer.

The ingredients are 1 large onion, 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons minces garlic, ¼ cup tomato paste, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon hot sauce, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, ½ teaspoon dried basil, and 2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes.

I sautéed the chopped onion in in the oil over medium heat for around 5 minutes.  I added the garlic and cooked for another minute.

I added the tomato paste, salt, balsamic vinegar, hot sauce, crushed red pepper, and basil and cooked for another minute.

I added the tomatoes.  The original recipe suggested you crush the tomatoes before adding them.  I didn’t do that, but I should have.  The tomatoes didn’t break down as much as I would have liked.  There was a little too much texture for my liking.  I also added all the tomato juices in the cans.

I brought this to a simmer and cooked for 40 minutes.  I would have kept it on longer, but I ran out of time.  Sometimes I don't allocate sufficient time for my tasks and end up late for things.  Most tomato sauce recipes I read suggest simmering the sauce for at least an hour.

Regardless, it was a flavorful sauce.  Its smell was mouthwatering.  I ate the sauce with pasta, of course, and baked butternut squash.  I would suggest smashing the tomatoes before adding them to the skillet and simmering for at least an hour.