Easy Italian Sauce

This Easy Italian Sauce is an authentic Italian Pasta sauce, and once you see just how easy it is to make the recipe, I bet that you’ll soon become hooked line and sinker and will never want to repurchase a jar of pasta sauce.

I am what they call an American-Italian. My family is originally from Salerno/Bellosguardo, Italy. My great-grandmother, Grandmother, and mom all came from Italy. I was born in America, raised in several places, and planted roots in the South, home to our family. But love sharing some of our  Authentic family recipes.

One of the things I would like to address is the Elephant in the room-In reality, coming from different countries, we all cook differently. When my family first started to come over to America, it was tough to find ingredients that you would find in Italy. The first round of my Italian Imagrient family arrived during the depression. Times were difficult.

Suddenly they were exposed to not being able to use ingredients that were highly costly to import. Changes were made, substitutions happened, recipes were adapted to what they could find or afford. So I will not sit high and mightily on you if you do not understand that 9/10 of the foods you see in restaurants, Pizza parlors, and some American-Italian homes are not what you would find on a menu in Italy.

Frequently asked questions about the Easy Italian Sauce.

• Why is it so essential to use tomatoes specially stamped with the DOP stamp? The volcanic soil in Italy makes them much sweeter, less acidic. Authentic San Marzano tomatoes will be stamped with an official DOP stamp.  When it comes to making pasta sauce, the taste of the tomatoes is everything. That’s why you see so many people using sugar in their sauce–they claim it cuts the acidity. The  DOP tomatoes may be more expensive, yes, but you get what you pay for.

• I always add sugar to my sauce to cut the acidity. Should I include sugar? Please don’t add sugar to your sauce; instead, if you use a quality organic that has a slightly bitter taste, add an entire large carrot to your sauce and remove it once done. This ingredient will naturally sweeten the sauce.

• I usually add several more herbs or use an Italian Spice blend. Why doesn’t this call for more herbs in it? Italian food is never complicated with several ingredients, so if you see a recipe for more than a few herbs and salt and pepper–it’s not authentic Italian. If you are looking for herb sauce, that’s a whole different chapter in another book. Why add so many flavors? It covers the taste of those beautiful tasting tomatoes. It also complicates the entire process.

• I do not have fresh basil or parsley on hand. Can I use dry? Fresh basil has a much better flavor, but you can use dried basil. I never recommend dried parley for anything as it has no taste.  If you are in America, you can find fresh parsley all year round- take advantage of it. The cost for fresh parsley runs .99-1.49, so it’s super affordable and much better tasting than dried parsley.

• Can I use another oil besides the olive oil? The taste of vegetable oil or other oils is day and night compared to the organic cold-pressed olive oil. I would splurge and use what the recipe calls for. Trust me. Your tastebuds will thank me later.

• Can I use garlic powder instead of the fresh minced garlic? Preferably no. You can find fresh, locally grown garlic in any supermarket, and it elevates the taste so much more than any powdered form of garlic. The cost runs from around .99 to 2.00 for four heads of garlic, and it lasts a fair amount of time.

Equipment needed for Easy Italian Sauce

• Cutting Board

• Sharp kitchen knife

• Food chopper (optional)

• Dutch Oven or large saucepot

• Pasta Pot

• Collander

Ingredients needed for Easy Italian Sauce

• Three to four tablespoons of organic extra virgin olive oil 

• Five cloves of fresh garlic, locally grown minced

• One cup of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped.

• 1/2  pound of lean ground beef, 97/3

• Two teaspoons of Kosher salt

• One -28- ounces of organic whole tomatoes, DOP stamped 

• Nine fresh small tender basil leaves

• Black pepper, to own taste

Optional Ingredients for Easy Italian Sauce

• Pasta noodles

• Cheese

• Red pepper flakes

• Fresh basil

Directions for the Easy Italian Sauce

1. Smash the fresh garlic with the side of a knife to remove the peel, and then mince the fresh garlic in a food chopper or with a knife

2. Chop the flat-leaf parsley in food chopper

3. Bring the extra-virgin olive oil to medium heat in a Dutch Oven, then add the minced garlic and chopped flat-leaf parsley.

4. After a minute, add the lean ground beef, and it up in tiny pieces break up. Add some Kosher salt, cook, until it begins brown and all juices have cooked off. Or drain in a colander to remove if need be.

5. Place the whole organic DOP stamped tomatoes in a food chopper or hand crush. Then add the tomatoes and the ground beef back in the Dutch Oven

6. Put the burner on medium-high to bring the pasta sauce to a simmer, and add more kosher salt to your taste. Careful not to scorch your sauce.

7. Lower the heat under the Dutch oven so that the pasta sauce simmers for about 40-45 minutes, occasionally stirring. Taste the pasta sauce to make sure it has been appropriately seasoned after about 20 minutes, and add more Kosher salt if needed at this time

8. When the pasta sauce is ready, check the seasoning. Add more kosher salt and pepper if needed and fresh basil, chopped or torn into pieces at this time.

9. Boil pasta according to package instructions. Once done, reserve one cup of the pasta water to add to the pasta sauce.

10. Drain and immediately add the pasta to the pasta sauce and combine.

11. Serve immediately add Pecorino Romano to pasta.

Suggested recipes to try

• Seafood Manicotti with Shrimp is one of my favorite traditional Christmas Eve dishes, and how can it not be? Pasta that’s decadently filled to the brim with delicious shrimp, crab, creamy ricotta cheese, Organic Parmesan cheese shreds, organic chopped spinach, and fresh chopped herbs, resting on a bed of broccolini, all covered in a deliciously simple red sauce and smothered in more Organic Parmesan cheese shreds.
• American Goulash, American Chop Suey, Beef, and Macaroni, have simple, economical filling ingredients. Such as lean ground beef, green bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seasoned with herbs that are reasonably family-friendly and super simple to find at any market or local grocer.
• Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo recipe, combined with a rich, thick, creamy homemade Alfredo sauce with grilled chicken and fresh broccoli, will have you in and out of the kitchen in no time.

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