Make your own pizza sauce, It’s easy and better
There are a lot of pizza sauces out there. Some are pretty good and some are pretty bad. If you’ve ever bought a “pizza kit” you will know what I mean. That dual pack of cardboard pizzas with the squeeze pack of sauce that is a flavourless and a bit on the brown side. In my opinion, if you are going to the effort of building a pizza from scratch it only seems fitting to make your own sauce. Short of the crust, that tomato sauce which is often overlooked, may very well be the flavour bomb of that pizza you worked so hard to make. Kim whipped up this recipe for sauce because we both like oregano, basil and of course, garlic. When they are available, we prefer San Marzano tomatoes to use as the base.
Why San Marzano Tomatoes?
Using authentic canned San Marzano tomatoes add a sweeter less acidic finish to the sauce. Grown in the volcanic soil of San Marzano Sul Sarno, they thrive in the Mediterranean climate. With a similar appearance to the plum tomato but thinner, they have a thicker skin and less seeds. They are grown under strict Italian guidelines. Look for the D.O.P. certification on the tomato can (Denominazione d’ Origine Protetta) translated to “protected designation of origin”. There are a lot of San Marzano tomatoes that are actually knock-offs and they are not as good. Yes they are a bit pricey as tomatoes go, but the payoff is definitely worth it.
Putting it together
With literally ten minutes of preparation you will have an amazing pizza sauce. Cooking the spices, and garlic will bring out more flavour than simply adding them to the blended tomatoes. Adding as much or as little spice gives you the ability to produce a sauce that is perfect for your individual taste. Simmer the sauce until it is the perfect consistency for the amazing pizza you are about to make. Divide the sauce and freeze. We use approximately half a cup of sauce on a large (16″) pizza.
If you are thawing out a batch of sauce, you may want to give it a quick simmer to eliminate any extra water that has resulted from condensation during freezing. This will leave you with that thick sauce like the day you made it.
Spread the tomato sauce out evenly on your freshly stretched dough and you are ready to build your pizza. Get that oven preheating and start laying out your hand picked toppings on that delicious tomato sauce. You are literally minutes away from an amazing pizza.
Pizza Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 28oz can san Marzano tomatoes
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat oil and add garlic. Stir, add basil and oregano. Over medium-low heat, cook for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is soft. Remove from heat.
- Use an immersion blender or food processor to break down the tomatoes until smooth.
- Add the tomatoes to the saucepan and return to heat. Simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally to allow the flavours to blend and the sauce to reduce to a thicker consistancy.
Notes
To conclude
The satisfaction of pulling that freshly cooked pizza out of the oven and knowing that you are about to slice into and enjoy a masterpiece.
If you like pizza be sure to check out these articles
