Adapted from a recipe created on the fly by my friend Craig. Delicious with pasta (choose a chunky-style pasta to match the chunky sauce), or as an ingredient in Eggplant Parmesan, Lasagne or Pasta al Forno. Use canned Marzano tomatoes if you can find them, and make sure the labels on the cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce list no ingredients other than tomatoes (and maybe water).
- 1 20-oz can unseasoned whole tomatoes
- 1 20-oz can unseasoned tomato sauce
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 onion
- salt
- freshly ground pepper
- red pepper flakes
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves
- capers
- extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, until the garlic is cooked but not browned.
Crush, tear or chop the whole tomatoes into coarse pieces, making sure not to lose the juices. Mince all but two of the basil leaves, and add the tomatoes, tomato sauce and minced basil to the pot. Season to taste with salt, freshly ground pepper, extra-virgin olive oil and red pepper flakes. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to desired consistency.
Tear the remaining basil leaves into coarse shreds. Add torn basil leaves and capers to the sauce. Cook for a few more minutes, until the basil leaves are wilted. Correct the seasoning.
Remove from heat and serve over a chunky, ridged pasta like penne rigate or rigatoni.
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January 17th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Hello Sean
Came across your site looking for tomato sauce made the Mormon Way. “Let me explain”
A few years ago a friend of mine stop by my place with a can of tomato sauce, some cheese and some Italian bread. We boiled up some pasta and heated up the tomato sauce and enjoyed our meal. Anyways the tomato sauce was the highlight of the meal. Best stuff I had up to that point in time. Come to find out it was made and canned by a local Mormon food supply shop. Since then I have not been able to come across another can of tomato sauce like it. Been looking and searching for recipes that may be offer similar product.
Thanks for your time and best wishes to you and yours, Poppa T.
January 17th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
I’m afraid I don’t know anything about tomato sauce from a Mormon food supply shop. Unless it was sauce your friend got at a Mormon “bishop’s storehouse“? The Mormon church does have several canning facilities, so it’s possible the sauce you ate was actually produced by the church. Even so, I’m not sure where you could get it, because only needy Mormons generally can shop at the storehouses.