Rustic Tomato Sauce

Is there anything better than dipping a heel of crusty Italian bread into a thick and luxurious tomato sauce? Rustic Tomato Sauce combines humble ingredients into a crimson sauce that invites you to twirl, dip, sop, and top everything.

Whether you’re looking for an easy red sauce to nestle your Baked Ricotta Meatballs in or hearty sauce to hug your chicken parmesan, having a recipe for a rich and decadent sauce

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

My adoration for dipping crusty bread into sauce started early when I was too short to reach the stove and would stand on a footstool swirling chunks of Italian bread into my grandma’s red sauce. Making Rustic Tomato Sauce shouldn’t be complicated, but it does take a little time and that magical ingredient of love.

• Accessible Ingredients – This recipe for easy tomato sauce combines pantry staples like canned tomatoes with common fresh ingredients like onions and garlic.
• Easy Process – This is truly a one pot dish. Add all of your ingredients and allow it to simmer.
• Meal Prep – Tomato sauce is good the first day, but even better the next. This is a great make ahead dish that you can use all week long, or portion and freeze.
• Versatility – This base recipe is a starting point for something as simple as topping spaghetti to adding to all of your baked pasta dishes like lasagna and ziti, and even as a sauce for pizza.
• Customizability – This tomato sauce recipe is easy to adjust to your personal palate.
• Flavor/Texture – The texture of this tomato sauce balances the line between smooth and a little chunky, and also savory with just a whisper of sweet.

What is the Difference Between Tomato Sauce and Marinara?

If you’ve ever stood in the jarred pasta sauce aisle, the choices and names can be overwhelming. Tomato sauce, marinara, arrabiata…but what is the difference?

Traditionally, marinara sauce is a thinner, smoother sauce that is quick cooking, coming together in less than an hour. It requires just a few ingredients, tomatoes of some sort, garlic, crushed red pepper, maybe a splash of wine. It’s fresh, lighter, and brighter than tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce on the other hand is richer and more complex. It cooks for a while which not only concentrates the flavors but also the texture making it thick, dreamy, and luscious. Remember that hunk of bread for dipping? It’s a must.

In addition to requiring more time to cook, tomato sauce also requires more ingredients, usually starting with a mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery. This Italian classic originates from one of the French mother sauces, sauc tomat.

While many recipes for tomato sauce call for some form of pork or meat, this is a vegetarian tomato sauce that uses the natural meatiness of mushrooms to add both earthiness and also texture. Feel free to make it a little more traditional and add pancetta or guanciale.

Ingredients

Skip reaching for the jarred tomato sauce and instead reach for a can of San Marzano tomatoes. Combining fresh ingredients with your pantry favorites, this sauce couldn’t be easier.

• Whole San Marzano Tomatoes – This variety of the Roma tomato originates from San Marzano sul Sarno, Italy. They are thinner skinned, sweeter, less acidic, and meatier than other varieties of Roma tomatoes. Always make sure your can has the D.O.P. designation, or protected designation of origin. This lets you know they are true San Marzano tomatoes, and not just in the style of.
• Strained Tomatoes – These are tomatoes that have been peeled and seeded. The only ingredient should be tomatoes. You can find these in either a box or glass jar. Their smooth texture balances out the thicker whole tomatoes.
• Sweet Onion – Adds a natural layer of sweetness and depth of flavor.
• Celery – Fresh and bright, celery balances the sweetness and richness of the sauce.
• Carrots – Adds a layer of sweetness that balances the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Cremini Mushrooms – These earthy and meaty mushrooms add both another layer of flavor and also texture.
• Tomato Paste – Thick, rich, and deeply tomato flavored, this compliments the brighter flavors of the strained tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes while also adding to the thick texture.
• Garlic – Pungent and aromatic, garlic adds savory flavor to every bite.
• Dry Marsala Wine – This fortified Italian wine from Sicily helps deglaze the pan and add sweetness to balance the acidity without having to add any sugar.
• Dried Oregano – A little citrusy and floral, oregano adds an herbaceous not to this sauce.
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes – Add a little or add a lot.
• Parmigiano Reggiano Rind – Infuses umami into the sauce and gives it a natural, nutty depth.
• Basil – The stems are added at the beginning and torn leaves at the end for a burst of sweet freshness.
• Bay Leaves – Adds aromatic depth and lends to that all day cooked flavor.
• Fine Sea Salt – You can use kosher salt in place of the fine sea salt. Fine sea salt dissolves easily and adds a clean flavor.
• Olive Oil

How to Make Rustic Tomato Sauce

Is there anything better than a pot of Sunday sauce simmering away? With just a little prep at the beginning, this hearty vegetarian sauce comes together with ease.

• Mise en Place – Chop your onion, carrots, and celery into chunky pieces and add them to a food processor along with your garlic. Pulse until they are finely chopped. Roughly chop your mushrooms by hand.

• Mirepoix – Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add your olive oil. Add the finely chopped mirepoix and allow it to cook until it becomes soft and tender, approximately 10 minutes.
• Sauté – Add the mushrooms and continue to cook the vegetables until the mushrooms have released their liquid and are just becoming golden brown. Season with salt, oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes and add the tomato paste. Continue to stir and cook the mixture until the tomato paste deepens into a rust color.
• Deglaze – Add your Marsala wine, making sure to scrape up the fond, all of the brown bits. Let the wine come to a simmer and mostly reduce.

• Simmer – Add your strained tomatoes, San Marzano tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano rind, and basil stems. Stir to combine. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer and then turn the heat to low. Partially cover your pot and allow the sauce to cook for 45 minutes to an hour until thickened and reduced.

• Finishing Touch – Remove the basil stems, bay leaves, and parm rind. Stir in fresh basil. Taste to see if you need to add any more salt or crushed red pepper flakes.

Substitutions

Marsala wine is not a traditional ingredient to tomato sauce, but the natural sweetness balances the acidity of the tomatoes. However, red wine can be substituted. You can also leave the wine out entirely and add a pinch of sugar.

The combination of whole tomatoes combined with strained tomatoes gives a balance of thick but slightly smooth. You can use all whole canned San Marzano tomatoes if you like a chunkier texture. You can also substitute the strained tomatoes for tomato puree or passata.

Additions for Rustic Tomato Sauce

This is a basic starting point for a hearty tomato sauce. While it is delicious on its own, it’s also a canvas for you to add your own favorite ingredients and flavors. Here are a few suggestions.

• Pancetta/Guanciale – For a salty back bone to this sauce, start by sautéing diced pancetta or guanciale. Remove the cooked pork from the Dutch oven and allow your vegetables to cook in the pork fat. Add the pork back into the sauce as it simmers.
• Butter – While this more of a French addition, add a couple tablespoons of cold butter into the finished sauce, stirring to help it melt and emulsify. This will add richness and creaminess.
• Cream – If you love a pink sauce, stir in a little heavy cream or half and half at the end.
• Gound Beef – To make this a meat sauce, brown a pound of ground chuck at the beginning and then add it back into the pan when simmering the sauce.
• Spicy – When given the choice of a little or a lot spicy, spice is totally the zest of life. Feel free to add additional crushed red pepper flakes to this red sauce, or crushed Calabrian chili flakes.

Storage

This recipe is easy to double. Make it for your Sunday dinner, and then freeze the extras for later. Allow the sauce to cool completely. If you plan on using it during the week it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Glass or ziplock bags are recommended as the tomatoes can stain plastic.

If you want to freeze the sauce, portion it out into freezer ziplock bags. Flash freeze them flat on a baking sheet, and then you can easily stack them as you like in the freezer. This sauce will keep for up to two months frozen. Remove it the night before you plan on using it and let it slowly defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

Tips From the Beach

Always save your Parmigiano-Reggiano rind! Some shop their wedges of cheese based on how much cheese it is, I always look at the rind. It adds instant depth of flavor and umami to sauces and soups. it also makes for a chef snack because who doesn’t love little bits of melty cheese?

Basil leaves turn brown and lose their flavor when they are cooked for a long time. Always start long cooking dishes with the stems of the basil plant and finish with the leaves.

Part of why this recipe works is the types of tomatoes used. Make sure your San Marzano tomatoes have the DOP label. This will ensure they are sweeter and less acidic than other varieties of canned tomatoes. In addition, strained tomatoes usually come in a box eliminating that “canned” flavor. The combination works for both the texture, and also a sauce that doesn’t require any sugar.

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