thekleinmans.com

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• Onions (optional)
• Garlic
• Tomatoes – canned (whole or chopped), or Pomi
• Basil OR Oregano
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Butter or cream (optional)
• Fresh Parmesan Cheese (optional)

(This is nearly verbatim from Chelsea:)

1. I always start with a medium/large skillet and put olive oil in the bottom (probably like 4 or 5 tablespoons but it just needs to be enough to sauté the garlic and/or onions etc).
2. If you like onion, then chop about a half of a medium onion (though this is to taste so you can do more or less) and put in the oil. I like to chop it medium fine since I don’t like chunks of onion but again, it’s up to your preference.  When the onion is mostly cooked (don’t let it burn) you can add a few cloves of garlic (either crushed or sliced as you prefer).  I always think the more garlic the better but it’s up to you.  If you don’t like onion (or don’t have it in the house), you can always skip it, and just use garlic.
3. Sauté the garlic and onions till they are cooked (careful not to burn the garlic – add the garlic near the end of cooking the onions).  A low flame is generally good.   You can add any other things like chopped prosciutto or spec etc if you want that flavor but it’s definitely NOT necessary.
4. When garlic and onions are cooked and smell fragrant I add in a large can of tomatoes.  If you have some open and it’s a bit less or more, don’t worry.
5. I used to like the whole/chunky kind but as of late I prefer a mix.  Sometimes I take most of the can and blend it for a second or two just to get a nice even sauce.  This is totally a preference thing.  If you are making a double batch of sauce it’s definitely nice to puree one of the cans so that there is something to coat the pasta with and not just chunks.  Though again this is just my current preference.  You can also use an already pureed can and a whole can or any combo you like.  Its not rocket science and you can always blend a bit of it after it’s cooked if you feel it’s too chunky for your taste!  NOTE- I like to buy tomatoes that do NOT have basil pre-added.  A lot of cans do add basil and I think it makes the tomatoes taste a bit off, but its not a big deal.
6. Stir the olive oil, onions, garlic and tomatoes. Add salt (1tsp or more but up to you) and pepper to taste and about 1 tsp (or a large pinch) of oregano. You can always add more. Rub the oregano between your palms to crush it as you add it to break it up and give more flavor.  If you prefer a sweeter sauce, you can always do basil INSTEAD of oregano and add less salt, but I wouldn’t do both.
7. Let simmer until it seems cooked. Min 10 min but you could let it simmer for longer, probably 20-25 min. If it’s too liquidy leave the lid off. If you want to preserve the moisture keep the lid on. If you are using chunky or whole tomatoes, you can always break up bits with a Wisk or a spoon.  Chunky and whole tomatoes tend to take longer to cook for obvious reasons J  Don’t be afraid to taste it as you go, that way you can make it the right amount of salty etc for your taste!
8. This is pretty easy, you can’t mess it up, and you can add anything you want to taste.  I usually like a little butter or fresh parmesan cheese with my sauce (added at the end or directly on the pasta). Another super super yummy thing (that I prefer these days to butter) is to add cream to the sauce when you are done .
9. Additional good things to add to the sauce after the tomatoes are in the pan are: artichoke pieces (canned or the frozen ones from trader joes), cooked sausage, olives, capers etc. I like olives and capers with a bit of extra cayenne pepper to make it a bit spicy.

Created by Jon