My Favorite Quick Tomato Sauce

June 5, 2009

I was on the phone with my brother last week when he told me about an arrabiata tomato sauce he made.  For those unacquainted, arrabiata means “angry” in Italian – it is a spicy tomato sauce.

He told me how good it was, mentioning it had over 10 ingredients.  I’m sure the sauce was incredible, but the downside (sort of – I’ll explain) is that he made it sound like an event.  Go shopping, prepare the ingredients and spend a long time cooking.  “Event cooking” is not always bad – I love making complicated or long-cooking dishes when I have time, and the food is usually great.  The obvious “but” here is that I don’t always have the time or energy for it.

Quick homemade tomato sauces – especially arrabiata – with pasta are one of my favorite foods.  When you’re short on time or energy, you can create a delicious spicy tomato sauce in the time it takes to boil your pasta using only four ingredients. Is the sauce as good as the one my brother made? Probably not – but it is quick, easy, and still delicious.

Arrabiata (Spicy) Tomato Sauce Recipe

For this recipe you’ll need olive oil or butter, garlic or onion, a can of crushed or whole tomatoes, and crushed red pepper flakes.  I am deliberately vague on the ingredient amounts, as it is an easy recipe to eyeball.  For the olive oil or butter, you want a thin layer on the bottom of your pan.  If you’re using garlic, I probably use two cloves for a 14.5 oz can of tomatoes, and 3-4 for a 28 oz can.  The tomatoes are obviously the main factor in how much sauce you want.  I probably use around a teaspoon of red pepper flakes (a little more or less depending on the tomato can size), though I don’t measure anymore.

You’ll also need salt and pepper, but I’m not counting those as ingredients because it is not as impressive to say six ingredients.  Also, I like to toss in fresh parsley at the end, but it’s not required.

Begin by placing a small saucepan over medium-low heat and add your fat (olive oil/butter) to the pan.  Then begin mincing your garlic and/or chopping your onion.  When you are closed to finishing your knife work, increase the heat on the stove slightly (I usually find medium or just under a pretty good level).

Add your garlic/onion, a little bit of salt, and the red pepper flakes.  Sauté until the garlic begins to turn golden or the onion softens.

Pour in your crushed tomatoes, or crush your whole tomatoes by hand into the saucepan.  Be careful if you’re crushing whole tomatoes – they tend to splatter.

Stir everything together and add a bit more salt and pepper.  Just simmer your sauce for 10-15 minutes (or until your pasta is finished), add any final seasonings (I like minced parsley), pour in a quarter cup or so of pasta water if you’re into that sort of thing, and you’re finished.

The pasta is bright and slowly builds a spicy flavor.  I highly recommend for nights when you’re tired after work.

No-Look Cooking

Recipe

1. Sauté your aromatic (garlic or onion) in fat (olive oil or butter) with red pepper flakes and salt.  Add tomatoes and simmer until the pasta is finished.  Season the sauce.

Cooking Tips/Techniques

1. Sauté garlic until it starts to turn golden brown, or onions until they are soft.
2. Add a little bit of salt when sautéing (I’m not sure why you do this, but the recipes call for it.  I’ll look into it.)
3. Quick tomato sauces only need 10-15 minutes of cooking (a little longer if it is a huge batch).  Cooking it too long destroys the fresh tomato flavor.
4. Add some pasta water to the sauce for extra flavor.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• Olive oil or butter to cover the bottom of the saucepan
• Garlic (minced, 1-2 cloves per 14.5 oz of tomatoes) or onion (chopped, as much as you want)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes, about 1 teaspoon, but really to taste
• Canned crushed tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes
• Other garnishes – fresh Parmesan, fresh chopped parsley (optional)

Recipe

1. Sauté the garlic and/or onion in the fat, with salt and red pepper flakes, until the garlic is golden or the onion is soft.
2. Add the tomatoes, and more salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until your pasta is finished.
3. Add a quarter cup of pasta water to the sauce, add fresh parsley if desired, then serve over pasta with freshly grated cheese.

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