Tomato Sauce
Updated Jan. 8, 2025
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 5cups diced yellow onions, red onions or shallots
- Fine sea salt
- 1(28-ounce) can whole peeled, diced, crushed or puréed tomatoes
- 4garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2tablespoons tomato paste (optional)
- 4 to 5basil stems (optional)
- ¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (9 servings)
134 calories; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 447 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Set a medium Dutch oven or similar pot over medium heat, and add 4 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add onions and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring regularly, until onions are lightly golden and tender, 16 to 18 minutes.
- Step 2
In the meantime, pour the tomatoes into a large bowl and use hands to crush, if using whole tomatoes. Pour about 1½ cups water into the can and swirl to rinse any remaining purée off the sides. Add the water to tomatoes in bowl and set aside.
- Step 3
Once onions are soft and golden, add garlic and cook, stirring, until it threatens to turn golden, about 90 seconds. Add tomato paste, if using, and cook until color deepens, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt. If using, add basil stems and red-pepper flakes. Stirring regularly, allow sauce to come to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until sauce tastes savory and all raw tomato flavor is gone, about 45 minutes.
- Step 4
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Use a hand blender to purée, pass through a food mill or let cool, then purée using a blender or food processor. Tomato sauce can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated or frozen up to 3 months.
Private Notes
Comments
Trained professional chef who has worked in some of the best kitchens in the world, written massively influential book on cooking, and has cooked literally thousands and thousands of professional meals VS opinion of anonymous person online who declares 5C of onions is too much. Come on! Just trust and try the recipe as the pro suggests, and then evaluate it relative to your tastes and preferences. Who knows, you might learn something new.
I find it amusing that people scoff at the onions but insist on adding sugar or honey. If you cook the onions long enough, they'll add plenty of sweetness and more depth of flavor than sugar or honey. Thank you Samin!
Lovely sauce! I used 2 large yellow onions, subbed 1/2c red wine for 1/2c of the water and doubled the red pepper. Super flavorful and delicious.
5C of onions (about 1C of that shallots) makes this sauce is GREAT! There's a bit of a sweetness coming from somewhere, so I added more salt and pepper flakes. Nice to have an easy recipe for a pantry staple. Only thing missing is a video of Samin making this because she is just a GEM!!
I gave it 5 stars, but I confess to changes / additions: subbed in 1 cup of chardonnay for 1 cup of the water; added seasoning--1 tsp. dried basil, 1 tsp, dried oregano, several grinds of fresh black pepper, & 1 bay leaf; didn't have fresh herbs on hand. Pureed with hand blender, which I consider mandatory because of the quantity of onions. Excellent sauce, made a nice amount. Next time I will use the food processor to chop the onions since the shape / size is unimportant.
I make something very similar to this, but I add a diced green bell pepper or two after the onions have cooked for a bit. The additional veggies add flavor and create more of a garden type sauce. Since we love spice, I’ll use the red pepper flakes or possibly add a jalapeño in with the bell peppers. Fresh tomatoes from my garden in the summer, with additional tomato paste, and whole canned tomatoes out of season. It’s my signature sauce that always gets rave reviews.