ITALIAN ESSENTIALS: AWESOME PIZZA SAUCE

Italian Essentials: Awesome Pizza Sauce image

I love my pizza, and I love my sauces... this is a great sauce that has a lot of flavor, and just a hint of heat. Not so much that it overpowers the sauce, but one that lets the other ingredients come through. It is a perfect sauce, for a perfect pie. So, you ready... Let's get into the kitchen.

Provided by Andy Anderson ! @ThePretentiousChef

Number Of Ingredients 21

Ingredients

PLAN/PURCHASE
COOKED INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil, extra virgin
2 tablespoon(s) sweet butter, unsalted
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon(s) dried basil
1 teaspoon(s) fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon(s) dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon(s) dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt, kosher variety
1/4 teaspoon(s) dried marjoram
1/4 tablespoon(s) white pepper, freshly ground
1 pinch(es) red-pepper flakes
2 clove(s) baked garlic
SAUCE INGREDIENTS
14 ounce(s) diced tomatoes, 1 can
8 ounce(s) tomato sauce, 1 small can
2 tablespoon(s) tomato paste
1 tablespoon(s) parmesan romano cheese, grated
1 teaspoon(s) balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon(s) sugar, granulated variety

Steps:

PREP/PREPARE
San Marzano tomatoes are great for this recipe; however, I have had good luck with other, local, brands, such as Hunts.
Baked garlic produces a wonderful earthy flavor to this sauce. If you choose to use regular (not baked) garlic, then use one minced clove; not two.
What is the sugar for? The sugar aids in removing the bitter taste from the canned tomatoes. My suggestion would be to open the canned tomatoes, and give them a taste, if they have a slightly bitter taste, use the sugar. If they do not, you can leave the sugar out. FYI: The better the brand of tomatoes, the less chance they will be bitter.
Butter in a pizza sauce? Adding butter to the sauce helps gives it a richer, fuller mouthfeel.
Gather your ingredients (mise en place).
Add the butter and oil to a saucepan over medium heat.
When the butter melts, and stops foaming, give the pan a whirl to mix the oil, and butter, then add the onions.
Cook until they begin to soften, but not brown, about 3 - 4 minutes.
Add all the dry spices, and stir for an additional minute.
Add the garlic, and stir until fragrant, another 60 seconds. Then remove from heat.
Add the onion/spice mixture to a blender, and then add the sauce ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
So, why not cook the sauce ingredients with the spices, and onions? Well, I would, if they were fresh, not canned ingredients. However, canned ingredients are cooked before being canned, and they will be cooked again when they are used on a pizza. The more times something is cooked, the less flavor.
Do a final tasting for proper seasoning, and then store in a non-reactive container (glass), with a lid, in the fridge, until ready to use.
PLATE/PRESENT
Use anywhere you would use a good pizza sauce. Enjoy.
Keep the faith, and keep cooking.