Instructions

• Step 1: Cut garlic and tomatoes Slice the garlic cloves and cut the tomatoes, making sure not to discard the seeds or the inner pulp.
• TIP: If you can't find fresh tomatoes, you can use canned tomatoes.
• Step 2: Heat olive oil Heat the olive oil in a pot at medium-low heat until it begins to simmer. If the oil begins to smoke, throw it away and start over.
• Step 3: Add garlic and tomatoes Add the garlic to the oil and saute it for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to let it brown. Then add the tomatoes and mash them with a potato masher.
• Step 4: Cook sauce Raise the heat to high and cook for 10 minutes. If the tomatoes start to splatter, cover the pot.
• TIP: If the sauce is too thin, you can add tomato paste to make it thicker.
• Step 5: Add basil, salt, and pepper Add the basil and sprinkle in the salt and pepper to taste, and then stir the sauce until everything is blended thoroughly.
• Step 6: Blend sauce Allow the sauce to cool and put it in a blender in small batches, blending until the sauce turns bright red-orange.
• Step 7: Eat Enjoy your sauce over pasta, fish, or use it for dipping bread!
• FACT: Tomatoes originated in South America, where people of the Andes treated them as a weed.

You Will Need

• 6 cloves garlic
• 4 lbs. plum tomatoes
• 5 oz. olive oil
• 12 basil leaves
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Potato masher
• Blender
• Canned tomatoes (optional)
• Tomato paste (optional)