Tomato Sauce – plain and simple

Nothing goes over better at my house than plain and simple pasta.  I almost always serve it when the girls have a friend over for dinner.  My oldest daughter gave this simple Marinara Sauce the name “Mama’s Sauce”.

Mama’s Sauce

• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 half a large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of crushed or minced garlic
• a splash of oil for the bottom of the pot
• about 1 tbsp dried basil (or a bunch of fresh, fancy pants!)
• 1-2 tbsp sugar, but kind of to taste.  If it’s sour, add more.  You can adjust it as it’s simmering away.
• maybe some salt, but you might not need it – there is salt in the canned tomatoes.
• pepper, if you like that, but Sadie doesn’t, so Hannah and I add it at the table
• **1/2 cup or so of TVP if you want a bit of extra low-fat, veg protein.   You can get TVP (textured vegetable protein) dried in bulk at the health food store.  OR you can add browned ground beef or Italian Sausage (if you must)

1. Saute the onion in the oil in a thick bottomed pot until translucent.  About 2 minutes on medium.
2. Add tomatoes, basil, sugar, garlic and salt and pepper.
3. Simmer on med/low for at least 20 minutes.  An hour on really low is great but you can rush it a bit and it’s still great.
4. If you like a chunky sauce, turn off the heat and serve.  I love to purée the diced tomatoes with an immersion blender (but a regular blender will do the trick too).  Why not use crushed tomatoes in a can, you say?  Good question!  You can but it’s not the same.  You will be surprised at the difference in colour, taste and texture from using the crushed tomatoes in a can.  The seeds that are in the diced tomatoes get crushed up and add a lot of flavor and colour to the sauce.

** If you want to add the TVP, toss it on with the tomatoes and add about 1/8 -1/4 cup of water.  The TVP absorbs a bit of the liquid from the sauce and it might be a bit too thick without the water.  Just adjust it a bit by adding more water or TVP until it’s the right consistency.  If you want to have meat in it, brown it in the pot with the onions and then go ahead with the directions.

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