Tomato Sauce
- 1 lg can (32 oz) of Italian tomatoes (with basil leaf, preferably)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, quartered
- Fennel seed, to taste (optional)
- 1 T olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Hand-squeeze the tomatoes into a large frying pan. Add garlic and fennel, if using. The fennel is optional and is used to impart an Italian sausage flavor to the sauce. Cook over a low flame until the tomatoes become a little dry. Next, add the olive oil, being careful not to make it too oily! Increase the heat to medium-low and cook for an hour and a half. This will make a thick sauce.
Although not listed in the ingredients, a little sugar (about half a teaspoon) can be added to the plain tomato sauce as it cooks. This is a traditional ingredient, probably started when canned tomatoes were on the bitter side, but it does give the tomato sauce a unique flavor. It is optional, but recommended.
