Basic Red Sauce

  Here is my basic Italian red sauce, that I cook. You can use it for pizzas, lasagna, etc. It makes a good bit of sauce, and you can usually use it on a few different things, and even refrigerate it. I decided to go ahead an post it, since it goes so well with the homemade pizza dough that I just posted earlier this morning.


Basic Italian Red Sauce

2 (28oz) cans of whole peeled tomatoes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1-1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium onion)
1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of oregano
1/2 tsp of basil
1/2 tsp of black pepper
2 (15oz) cans of tomato sauce
3 Tbsp of tomato paste
2 cups of water
1 tsp of sugar

  Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Squeeze the tomatoes, breaking them into pieces.
 
  In a 5 quart pot, heat the olive oil. Add onions, garlic, salt, basil, oregano and black pepper. Cook, stirring until soft, about 5 minutes.

  Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, sugar and crushed tomatoes.  Stir and bring to a simmer.

  Lower the temperature to medium heat, and let cook until it comes to a boil. After it comes to a boil, lower the heat to low, and let simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Use to pour over pizza crust, a layer in making lasagna, or a base for anything Italian.

(Yield: 10 cups, or 2-1/2 quarts of sauce.)