my pizza sauce recipe
aight folks many people have been asking so here's my recipe for pizza sauce
ingredients:
1 28oz can pureed tomatoes
olive oil
1 medium onion
3-4 cloves garlic
salt (i normally use kosher because it's easy to measure by pinch but any type will work)
basil (fresh or dried)
oregano
optional:
paprika
sugar
red pepper flakes
steps:
roughly dice onion and garlic
cover bottom of pot with olive oil. heat olive oil until shimmering
add onion to pot, add a small amount of water to steam, and cover. stir onions semi-regularly. cook until softened and a little bit browned, but not caramelized. if you can get a layer of fond on the bottom of the pan that's bonus
clear center of pan, add enough olive oil to fry the garlic, and roast the garlic in the center of the pan until fragrant (30sec- 1min)
add tomato puree, and scrape any fond off the bottom of pan. blend until homogenous (I use an immersion blender in the pot, but if you only have a regular blender or a food processor, you can pour the mixed sauce out, blend, then pour back into pan)
optional: simmer the sauce for up to an hour. the sauce will slowly turn from red to a reddish-orange. you can stop at any time, based off vibes or time constraints
add salt to taste, and stir
if you're using fresh basil, mince the leaves down to the size you want on the pizza. i find blending basil leaves with the rest of the sauce doesn't chop them up well
add basil, oregano, paprika, perhaps more olive oil, and any other sugar/spices to pot to taste. stir after adding each spice. add more salt if you think it's necessary. have fun and experiment here! i often go back and forth between adding various spices until it feels about right. you might have to blend it again to get it fully homogenized.
note: whenever i'm adding by taste, i aim for a sauce that punches you in the face with flavor. it might seem a bit intense on its own, but in the actual pizza that intensity gets mellowed out by the cheese and the crust, and results in a beautiful flavor balance
variations
if you don't have time/energy to roast an onion or garlic, onion powder/garlic powder will do just fine. add them in the same way you'd add the other spices
raw garlic also works, you don't have to roast it. perhaps raw onions would be good too? never tried them
you don't have to boil the sauce at all! sometimes I'll throw everything into a blender and add spices by taste
you can use canned peeled whole tomatoes, or even fresh tomatoes! but the fresh tomatoes require some additional prep that i don't feel wanna get into rn. regardless, make sure they get blended into a puree
other spices??!!!?!???!?
most importantly, remember to be yourself and have fun. pizza sauce is a vibe - if it tastes good, it is good!
