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Home Grown Tomatoes & Red Sauce

June 6, 2007 By Rhoda 39 Comments

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Nettuno, Italy where I spent some time in the early 90’s. It’s an hour from Rome.

Many years ago (early 90’s), I had the pleasure of spending some time in Italy (sort of long story that I won’t go into now). And, I got to eat with the locals & learn a little bit about how they cook & do things over there. In my mind, I had always thought that the spaghetti sauce that they make must take hours to make (after all, that’s how most “real” Italian cooks did it over here, or so I thought). I was very surprised to learn that they use very simple ingredients & it only simmers for 30 min. or so & then they serve it over fresh pasta. I watched & learned from some of those local ladies & brought home my own recipe for fresh pasta sauce. It does help that my mama cans her tomatoes out of their garden too, so she keeps me stocked up on the most flavorful canned tomatoes. I just brought home a new box after our last visit, so I’m good to go. Our very first tomato from our little backyard garden. I think I picked it too early, cause it wasn’t quite juicy enough yet. We are going to let them sit on the vine now until they are good and ripe. My mama’s canned tomatoes. What would I do without these? I use them in my pasta sauce, chili, & anything that calls for chopped tomatoes. They are SO good!  “Rhoda red sauce” So, I thought I’d share with you this simple, fresh marinara sauce that is served at our house at least once a week. A fresh green salad & bread if you’d like, and it’s a meal….a very delicious meal! You can add anything to this too…I sometimes add black olives or mushrooms. I don’t care for meat sauce & like to keep it simple.
Rhoda’s Marinara Sauce
1 large can of chopped/diced tomatoes (32 oz. from the store?) you know the large ones or crushed tom. works too
1 can tomato paste
2-3 TBL EV olive oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 TBL dried basil (Add chopped fresh basil leaves too if you have them)
1 TSP dried oregano
1/4 TSP dried red pepper flakes (to taste)
Salt & Pepper to taste
In saucepan, drizzle olive oil in bottom & heat to medium, press garlic or mince & saute in olive oil for couple of minutes. Add large can tomatoes, along with the tomato paste. Add rest of ingredients, bring to a boil, then lower & simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over fresh pasta. I use thin spaghetti or penne pasta most of the time. Of course, freshly grated Parmesan is best, but I’m not opposed to canned. Enjoy!

I think you’ll like this! I never have complaints when I’ve served this pasta sauce & once you make your own, you’ll never do canned again. Beats the heck out of Prego or Ragu. Those are so sweet to me now.

Buon Appetito, Ya’ll!
 

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Filed Under: Recipes and Cooking 39 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tammy518 says

    June 7, 2007 at 9:14 am

    This sounds delicious, Rhoda! I just printed it out and I’m definitely fixing it soon. I don’t usually make meat sauce either, and in fact, my 16-year-old son became a vegetarian a couple of months ago. He’ll love this.

    Reply
  2. Rhoda says

    June 7, 2007 at 9:20 am

    I’m glad you ladies like red sauce too! I think I might make it again tonight.

    And, Lucinda…yes, small can of tomato paste is what I mean.

    Hope y’all enjoy & thanks so much for stopping by.

    Reply
  3. Dorothy says

    June 7, 2007 at 9:43 am

    Hi Rhonda! You always have such lovely photos to go along with your great posts! No exception here! I can’t wait to try this recipe for your sauce. I bet it tastes fabulous! Thanks for sharing it and your talent!
    D~

    Reply
  4. Sandy says

    June 7, 2007 at 11:32 am

    Yummy Rhoda! Fun, you got your first tomato. I started freezing my tomatoes, roasting them first. I put my recipe on one of my earlier blogs (can’t remember which one).
    Thanks for sharing 🙂
    Sandy
    For Reluctant Entertainers

    Reply
  5. Suzanne says

    June 7, 2007 at 12:18 pm

    Yummy, that looks so good, and you already have your first tomato, wow! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂 and your new background template looks great!

    Reply
  6. FrenchGardenHouse says

    June 7, 2007 at 3:16 pm

    Yummy! Thanks Rhoda, it sounds wonderful…we can always use a great sure to please recipe.

    Trying it this weekend with some great tomatoes. I agree with Tina Leigh
    “Good night a livin!! “
    Lol

    Lidy

    Reply
  7. torirowland says

    June 7, 2007 at 3:30 pm

    Hi Rhoda! Thanks for an awesome recipe and a wonderful blog! It’s just a breathe of fresh air to visit you here ever since I saw you on Funky Junk Co.’s blog! I love doing projects just like yall…they are slow but surely tho! As is my new blog…so come by for a visit if you can…I’ve done some fun projects recently. Keep up the great work…I added you to my favorite blogs! I see you are from Ga. originally…me too! Still am!
    Tori
    raedanaedesigns
    http://raedanaedesigns.typepad.com/my_weblog/

    Reply
  8. Sheila says

    June 7, 2007 at 4:04 pm

    I’ll bet this is so good. I will try it, soon we will have open air farmer markets with fresh tomatoes. (I don’t grow them.)
    I love your new background, it look great..!
    xo

    Reply
  9. Andi says

    June 7, 2007 at 4:45 pm

    Love your new background! And Rhoda’s Red Sauce sounds wonderful. I’ll have to give your recipe a try. I like Rosemary’s comment about adding meat to her sauce. I’ll try that as well.

    Reply
  10. Naturegirl says

    June 7, 2007 at 9:25 pm

    Thank you Rhoda I am always looking for a new pasta sauce recipe as my boy could eat pasta every day! I’ll try yours and get back to you on it!

    Reply
  11. violetlady says

    June 8, 2007 at 2:14 pm

    I HAVE to have pasta at least once a week. I notice you don’t put onions in your sauce. I’ll try it that way. When I was in Italy, I think I remember them not putting onions in either. I add some red wine to my sauce. If you want a good, non-sweet, store-bought sauce, try Classico. I often doctor that up — tastes homemade.

    Reply
  12. Rabbit Hill Creations says

    June 8, 2007 at 9:35 pm

    Rhoda, that dish looks so yummy…my family and I are pasta eaters and are always trying new sauces…thanks for sharing your recipe.

    Reply
  13. Mary says

    June 10, 2007 at 12:35 pm

    Rhoda – thanks for sharing – when my tomatoes come in I’ll definitely try the recipe. My garden looks great now – veggies are climbing toward heaven since the wonderful rain this week – and last night it really came down! Today I fertilized as Tue. I leave on vacation – hate to leave my garden when it’s growing so fast but hopefully it will survive!
    I’ll post tomorrow and then be back June 22 to catch up with everyone’s news.
    Take care – Mary.

    Reply
  14. Sofia Striffler says

    March 3, 2009 at 2:12 pm

    I know this is an old post but I just read it. I am very italian my dad came to this country when he was 14 and I have never done canned or bottled sauces. Yes I make my sauce very similar but I add ground beef and sauce for a meat flavor. You have to cook that longer since the meat cooks with the sauce but still very good. Enjoy!

    Reply
  15. mary'smom says

    June 16, 2009 at 7:03 am

    I think that Italian-American sauce is different because many Italians here are from the southern part of Italy. I think that they cook their sauce longer in the Southern part…I am not sure. There is another recipe using fresh tomatoes…I have to find it for you…you don't cook the tomatoes at all.

    Reply
  16. Things That Inspire says

    January 12, 2010 at 10:49 am

    I know this is a really, really old post – but I cook just about every night, and am in a real slump. This sauce looks fantastic – and is the perfect example of a product that people feel fooled into buying canned, because they think they can’t make it homemade. There are so many things that are SO easy to make as long as you have a good recipe – salsa, guacamole, salad dressing, mac and cheese – and yet people go to the processed version because of simple ignorance or fear of cooking.

    Reply
  17. Heather says

    September 16, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    Can this recipe be canned?

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      September 16, 2013 at 7:42 pm

      Heather, I am not sure, but I suppose you can can anything like this. I’ve never tried it!

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  1. spinach lasagna rollups says:
    January 12, 2010 at 5:04 am

    […] made my regular homemade spaghetti sauce for this, instead of just using a can of tomato sauce and also added a little extra cheese on top […]

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Thanks for stopping by! I’m Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn’t have to cost a fortune and I’ve spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I’m here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won’t you join me?

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