This is the most basic tomato sauce, which you can make quickly when you are short on time or to which you can add any vegetables of your choice. It can easily be frozen as well. The basic recipe is in bold. Optional steps are in thinner text.
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans of chopped tomatoes, drained and rinsed; OR 2 lbs fresh-picked tomatoes
2 Tbsp fresh basil, parsley, or other herb
1 onion, chopped
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Up to 2 lbs vegetables, chopped
8 sundried tomatoes, chopped oil-packed
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 kalamata olives, chopped and pitted
Bring water to a boil for pasta.
If using fresh
tomatoes, dunk in the water until skins crack. Rinse
with cold water until cool enough to handle. Peel,
seed, and dice.
Cook pasta until al dente (until the
center of the pasta has just lost it's hardness).
Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil in pan.
Add onion, frying until translucent.
Add garlic
and cook until fragrant but not browned (2 minutes).
For spice, add red pepper
flakes. Add longer-cooking veggies such as carrots, greens,
and winter squash.
Add tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes lose their
shape to form a chunky sauce (10 minutes).
Add sundried tomatoes. Add
tender veggies such as zucchini and mushrooms 5
minutes before the sauce is done. Add cream after
tomatoes are done. Cook for 2-3 minutes longer until
the sauce thickens slightly.
Turn
off heat and stir in herbs (withhold if sauce will be
frozen) and salt to taste.
Add olives.
Toss pasta, sauce, reserved water and a little olive
oil if desired. Serve immediately.
To freeze the
sauce for later use, cover and let cool to room
temperature, then pour in ice cube trays. When frozen,
remove cubes from tray and store in a zip-loc bag.