Name: Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h
Yield: about 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 cans (28 oz) whole peeled San Marzano plum tomatoes; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 onion, diced; 4 cloves garlic, finely minced; 1 tsp salt, plus a pinch for the onion; 2 tsp sugar; 1/2 tsp dried herbs: basil, oregano and fennel seed; Pinch of red pepper flakes; 1/4 cup red wine; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 2 tbsp chopped Italian parsley; Water, as needed

Pre-flight checklist

Before you start

Dice the onion and mince the garlic
Crush the tomatoes and their juice by hand in a large bowl until almost puréed

Flight plan

Method

Cook the olive oil, onion and a pinch of salt in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat, stirring now and then, for about 15 minutes until the onion is very soft but not browned.
Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute, until fragrant.
Stir in the sugar, 1 tsp salt, dried herbs, pepper flakes and red wine. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the wine has almost cooked off.
Stir in the tomato paste until blended, then add the crushed tomatoes and parsley. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low.
Simmer gently for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add a splash of water whenever it gets thicker than you like.
Taste and adjust the salt, sugar and heat.

Notes & tips

Our changes are on the printout. We crossed out the celery, anchovy paste and white wine vinegar, and added 1/4 cup red wine plus basil, oregano and fennel seed in place of the "dried Italian herbs".
Chef John's original sweats 1 rib of finely diced celery with the onion and adds 1 tsp anchovy paste and 1 tsp white wine vinegar.
Chef John insists it must only be stirred with a wooden spoon.

Tomato Sauce

Before you start

Method

Notes & tips

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