Pizza Sauce

The old world pizzas I grew up with were not smothered with toppings. All they were topped with was a good hearty pizza sauce. We called them Tomato Pies. The tomatoes were either picked fresh from the garden or jarred for later use. We don't always have fresh vegetables available, so top quality cans of whole Roma tomatoes and sauce are good because there is less moisture in canned tomatoes to cook off. There are many ways to make great homemade pizza sauce. This is just one of them.

Ingredients

2 large cans of good quality peeled whole Roma tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic. Split between thinly sliced and minced
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh Rosemary
1 large onion minced very fine
1 Tablespoon oregano

3/4 Tablespoon chopped fresh Basil is optional
Dash of ground pepper
2 Tablespoons of Olive oil.

Sauté onion in olive oil over low to moderate heat until transparent. Then add garlic, rosemary, basil, oregano and pepper. Cut the tomatoes in half and spoon out the seeds. Retain the strained left over liquid as you remove the seeds and return it to the sauce. Then hand squeeze the halves as you place them into the pan. Simmer and stir until thickened to desired consistency.  Do not over heat because too much heat will reduce the flavor. Some cooks may then blend this mixture, but I prefer sauce with chunks of tomatoes and lots of body.

I usually bake the fresh pizza dough until the bottom is slightly golden brown. I then remove it from the oven, brush it with olive oil and add on the thick chunky sauce. Sprinkle on some good grated cheese and you will have the best pizza in town. Tomatoe Pie may also be cut into squares and served cold. A few finer bakies serve this traditional pie.