Basic Italian Marinara and Pomodoro Sauces For Pasta

There are plenty of variations on pomodoro and marinara sauces. The basic concept is a mixture of tomatoes, garlic, and basil. A marinara sauce tends to be a chunkier version of pomodoro, and tends to have oregano and onion whereas pomodoro is quite simply seasoned puréed tomatoes with basil and pepper. My favorite sauce is a hybrid of both styles, using chunky diced tomatoes, no oregano, and with very little simmering.

You can cook this sauce a little longer and purée it with a hand mixer, or even go full blown pasta and saute some celery and carrots into it. I like simple sauce though.

Ingredients

1 large can of diced tomatoes, or 4-5 large, fresh (very red) tomatoes
4-6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced or pressed
A good bunch of fresh basil leaves, torn into shreds
(touch your thumb to your index fingers, stuff enough basil leaves to fill that space)
5tbsp quality olive oil
Fresh ground pepper

Method

Put the olive oil into a heavy bottomed saucepan, and heat with fresh pepper on med-low heat until the pepper begins to sputter. Add minced garlic, and sauté. If your heat is too high here, you will "bitter" the garlic, and your sauce will lose a key ingredient. Mix the garlic around in the oil, and cook only long enough to soften it up and infuse the oil, maybe three or four minutes. Add the can of tomatoes. (do not drain!) If you are using fresh tomatoes, dice them up, and be sure to empty the natural juices into the sauté pan! Heat the tomatoes up, but do not simmer them. Allow the low heat to work its magic, turning the mixture from the bottom up. Once the tomatoes are hot, the sauce is fully cooked. Add the freshly shredded basil, and serve immediately over your favorite pasta.

Top with parmesan, and serve with a nice crusty bread to sop up the remaining sauce once the pasta's all gone.