Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon cooking oil

• 1 onion, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 can (28oz) whole peeled tomatoes

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• ½ tablespoon sugar

• Splash of soy sauce

• ½ teaspoon red chili flakes or cayenne pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon dried basil

• Salt to taste

Method

1. Add oil to a medium saucepan and sauté onions until translucent.

2. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.

3. Open can of whole peeled tomatoes, squish each one by hand, and gently place in saucepan. Add all the juice from the can and mix well.

4. Add tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, chili flakes, garlic powder, oregano, and basil.

5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

6. Add salt to taste.

7. Serve with your favourite pasta!

Notes:

• If you prefer a sweeter tomato sauce, feel free to use the “good” tomatoes, i.e., the San Marzano ones. I find these a bit too sweet for my taste, so I usually just use regular canned tomatoes. When I do use San Marzano tomatoes, I omit the sugar.

• I’ve been substituting the sugar with balsamic glaze for a little more depth of flavour.

• Use this whenever a recipe calls for tomato sauce! When I make this into a pizza sauce, I like to use a can of crushed tomatoes (instead of whole tomatoes).

• If you prefer a meat sauce, you can sauté some ground meat as the first step (I usually choose ground turkey).