Another Less Fuss, More Flavor Recipe:Fresh Pizza Sauce

You Made The Dough, Why Not The Sauce?

Homemade pizza is one of my very favorite things to eat. (Click here for my pizza dough recipe.) Throughout most of the year, I make what I call Feels Like Cheating Pizza Sauce. It really is almost too easy. (Of course you can't take into consideration all the hard labor you put into it months earlier.) First I defrost a plastic freezer container of tomatoes (usually San Marzano or Yellow Plum that have been blanched, peeled, and seeded) that I put up during the previous summer. Then I take a pair of kitchen scissors and snip the whole tomatoes into pieces before pouring the contents (minus some of the liquid) into a heavy saucepan. I turn the burner on medium, toss in a couple of pesto ice cubes (also put up the previous summer--you just scoop fresh pesto into ice cube trays and once frozen, transfer them to a zipper freezer bag), then head out to the garden or greenhouse for a handful of fresh oregano. This gets destemmed, chopped up, and stirred into the pot. (Dried oregano can be used in a pinch.) Bring it all to a boil, then simmer until the desired consistency is reached (I like mine very thick). For years it was done at this point.

But then a KitchenAid Hand Blender came to live with me, and while I still adore my chunky version, I was thrilled to discover the joys of having a smoother, more easily spreadable pizza sauce. Note Of Caution: I do have to admit that blending up a small amount of sauce is a bit more, um, dangerous (think splashing hot tomato bits flying about the kitchen) than burying the hand blender in an entire pot of soup (which is probably why they call them immersion blenders). A regular, countertop blender would be a safer option for a less reckess and lazy person. I should probably try using mine, but for now I simply make my sauce in a larger than necessary pan and stand back while blending.

During tomato season, there is simply no reason to use up your stash of preserved tomatoes when you get a hankering for a homemade pizza--unless, of course, you are looking at an almost frighteningly bountiful harvest in the garden and are frantically trying to gobble up everything leftover from last year.

Making my fresh pizza sauce takes a little more work than the Feels Like Cheating version, but not much. Chopping the fresh basil and garlic is required, but blanching and peeling the tomatoes is not. That is definitely not my idea of less fuss. If you chop the tomatoes into fairly small chunks, you will never notice the bits of skin buried under the toppings. And besides, the skin is probably good for you. If you happen to have some pesto handy, you could use a couple of dollops in place of the olive oil, garlic, and basil and save yourself some steps.

The nice thing about this sauce is that you can make it with any kind of tomatoes. Pink, orange, plum, salad, even little cherrys--it matters not one bit. This is also a fantastic way to use up all of those end of the season "seconds" hanging around the kitchen and languishing on the vines--the ones that aren't pretty enough to toss into salads or slice up for burgers. Soft spots, cracks, wrinkles, bug bites, funny little bumps on the skin from who knows what--just cut them off and toss them in the compost bin or give them to the chickens. (A few months ago I read about a farmer who feeds his chickens marigold flowers so that the yolks of their eggs will be very orange. It might be my imagination, but--before the chickens went into non-laying mode a couple of weeks ago--their yolks did seem to be darker after a diet heavy on tomatoes.) Of course perfect specimens can be used as well--and none of the ingredients have to come from your own garden. I'm sure the finished sauce would freeze just fine, though I haven't actually tried it.




Farmgirl Susan's Less Fuss, More Flavor Fresh Pizza Sauce
Amounts Are Entirely A Matter Of Taste

--Some good olive oil
--Fresh garlic, coarsely chopped with some nice salt and allowed to sit 10 minutes if possible (so the beneficial compounds have time to mix with the air and become more "available")
--Plenty of vine-ripened, garden fresh tomatoes (preferably heirloom & organically grown), cut into chunks (I use a serrated knife)
--Fresh basil (at least twice as much as you think seems like the right amount--I measure fresh basil by the handful)
--Fresh oregano (more than you're about to put in)

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan, then add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow the garlic to brown. Add the tomatoes, basil, and oregano and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid cooks out. Cooking time will depend on the juiciness of the tomatoes.

When there is still some liquid left in the pan, carefully puree the sauce using a blender or immersion hand blender. Bring it back to a boil, and continue simmering until desired consistency. Let cool, then spread on pizza dough. (If you are like me and never remember to make the sauce ahead of time, you can transfer it into a heat proof bowl and stick it in the freezer for a while. Just don't spill it because it will immediate freeze to whatever it falls on and is practically impossible to clean up.)

And there you have it. Pizza sauce so simple yet absolutely delicious you'll wonder why you never thought to cook some up before. Of course, if you are so inclined, you can embellish this basic recipe by adding a personal touch. Perhaps some chopped onion, diced sweet red pepper, grated carrot for sweetness, or a few dried mushrooms. (Pizza sauce is an excellent vehicle for hiding vegetables from finicky eaters.) You could even stir in some chopped fresh mushrooms after you've blended it up.

Just be sure to make enough pizza so that you end up with plenty of leftovers.

Note: Since tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic, and olive oil are all some of the World's Healthiest Foods, this recipe fits right in with ARF/5-A-Day. Catch it every Tuesday night at Sweetnicks.

Contents copyright 2006 FarmgirlFare.com.