Maria’s Tomato Sauce

submitted by Malvarina

Italian Cuisine
Pastas & Rice

Preparation Time: Half an hour

Ingredients :

Chef Bio :

Maria - otherwise known as Mamma Maria - has been cooking all her life for friends and relatives and now for all our guests.  Besides recipes handed down from her mother, Maria has the gift of knowing how to put together simple, easy-to-find ingredients that result in finger-licking meals.  She cooks cakes and cookies for her guests’ breakfast, lunch for her family and any friend that happens to drop in and then dinner for all her guests. When not preparing meals, she prepares jams from seasonal fruit and after dinner digestives such as limoncello, nocino (walnut liqueur) and cento erbe (100 herbs). Oh, by the way, Maria is 83 years old!

Description :

A good, light and fast tomato sauce that can be used in many dishes besides pasta.  "Always have a pan of tomato sauce ready on your stove" is Maria’s motto so it can be used in many different dishes...for eggplant Parmesan, for chicken cacciatore or any other dish that calls for a tomato seasoning.

Instructions :

Take ripe tomatoes, cut into pieces and place in blender (skins, seeds and all).  In winter when you don’t have fresh ones, use canned Roma tomatoes and blend them the same way. After blending the tomatoes, pour them into a sauce pan and, after having minced the onion, celery and carrot together, add it to the tomato sauce.  Pour in a good helping of extra virgin olive oil, pepperocini (to taste) and salt and cook over a medium flame until the sauce boils. Simmer for about half an hour while you cook your pasta. When the pasta is ready (best if "al dente"), strain it and, in a serving dish, pour a couple laddles of the sauce, add you pasta, add more sauce, parmigiano cheese, toss all together and serve.  And...Buon Apetito!