Among things I do not like, tomatoes rank pretty high up on the list. I wish so badly that I could like tomatoes. There are so many classic dishes that everyone loves (spaghetti for one) but they involve tomatoes, and cooks all over the world swear that even your pickiest child will love such-and-such dish and then they go and plop a bunch of tomatoes in the pot and I change the channel. (Also-a bit of a side note-but what is it with chefs thinking kids will eat food because there are fun colors involved? No, no, no. You don’t understand. Picky kids want food that are recognizable and generally bland. As in yellow and white and not intimidating.)
So yes, me and tomatoes have never really gotten along. Even as a kid, when everyone else’s favorite food was pizza, I didn’t quite get it. I would much rather have just the plain old cheese bread.
Tomato sauce on pizza is just about one of the only tomato food products that I can tolerate, and even then I like it to be very very light (and definitely no chunks of tomatoes!). Here is my perfect sauce: easy (because I am not willing to spend hours over the stove perfecting a sauce with an ingredient I don’t really like), with all of the classic pizza flavors. It can be spread heavy or light, and has the perfect bit of sweetness that pairs with that pizza crust I told you about the other day. Hmm…I wonder what we’re having for dinner this week.
Easy Pizza Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Wait Time: 30 minutes (or longer)
Makes enough for several large pizzas
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl, stirring until combined. It will seem a bit watery and oily at first, but just keep stirring and it will come together.
2. Cover the bowl and let sauce stand for about 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to marry together. Or allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a day or two.
I absolutely LOVE tomatoes but it took me quite a while to get there…I used to really dislike the seeds, their slight acidic nature, the way they burst in your mouth. Now I can’t get enough of them. Have you tried slow roasting? It really brings out the texture and flavours and might just convince you to go that step beyond sauce :-)
I used to like tomatoes, but now I “love” them. My 15-mo old daughter does too, so everyone wins!