YIELD: 4-6 servings | TIME: 30 minutes
2 28 ounce cans of San Marzano tomatoes, whole
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/3 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Once small onion finely diced, approximately ¼ cup
1 tablespoon butter
Fresh Basil
One pound of cooked pasta of your choice (save some of the pasta water)
Step 1: Place tomatoes in blender and blend them to combine. Don’t over blend. You are not making soup. The goal is to break down the whole tomatoes. I prefer this to tomato sauce. It is much fresher. Also the canned tomatoes will likely have a piece of basil in them. Remove this. You can add fresh basil later.
Step 2: In a Dutch oven add enough of the olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and sauté on medium heat until they are translucent. Add garlic and sauté briefly. Add tomatoes to the mixture and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer on medium low for 10 minutes. Then add about half of the cheese mixture. Stir to combine.
NOTE: If serving with meatballs, remove a few ladles of sauce at this stage and pour over meatballs in a baking dish and warm them through with the sauce. Will give them additional flavor. You can serve them this way or serve them on top of the pasta.
Step 3: Add pasta to pan. I just slightly undercook the pasta (one minute under recommended cooking time) so that I can cook it a little in the sauce and not end up with overcooked pasta. Add the butter and combine further. Then add fresh basil if desired. If you would like the sauce to be a little creamier add a little of the reserved pasta water. I like doing this. I put just a ladle of it in the sauce with the pasta and it gives it a creamy texture.
Step 4: Serve with the meatballs and the extra cheese on the side.