Tomato Basil Sauce

This is the tomato sauce that I use most often for my Italian-themed recipes. It’s so easy to make, full of flavor and only has a few, simple ingredients. Fresh Roma tomatoes are on top of the list and make this sauce thick, chunky, and simply irresistible. If you love sauces as much as I do, you can feel good about helping yourself to another serving because this one is delightfully light, wholesome, and nutritious. Kids approved (without the red pepper flakes!) and high in demand at my house!

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 3½ lb (1600 g) Roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 Tbsp homemade veggie broth concentrate or store-bought vegetable broth powder to taste
• 2-3 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• ½-1 tsp crushed red pepper (optional and only if you like it spicy!)
• 5 Tbsp tomato paste
• Celtic sea salt to taste
• fresh basil to taste, minced right before serving (I used about ½ cup and kept some leaves whole for garnish)

Preparation:

Preheat a large sauce pan or pot over medium heat. Add extra virgin olive oil with diced onion and sauté for about 7 minutes until onion is soft.

Add garlic, and sauté shortly for about 1 minute.

Add diced tomatoes, veggie broth concentrate (or broth powder), maple syrup, dried herbs, and crushed red pepper flakes. If you opted for store-bought broth powder/granulate, add it gradually. It’s much saltier than the homemade version.

Bring everything to a boil, then reduce heat just a little, and cook for about 20 minutes until tomatoes have fallen apart and a nice saucy texture is achieved.

Add tomato paste and, if necessary, Celtic sea salt to taste. If desired, adjust sweetness with some more maple syrup. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Right before serving, stir in lots of freshly minced basil.

Garnish with whole basil leaves and serve with your favorite kind of pasta, rice, stuffed peppers or eggplants – anything that calls for a flavorful, delicious tomato basil sauce. Enjoy!

Notes:

• If you prefer a rather smooth tomato sauce, just use an immersion blender before you add fresh basil. Different texture, same deliciousness!
• If you like a variation of this recipe, you could use fresh thyme, oregano, and basil instead of just basil.