When the Moon Hits Your Eye…

I don’t know about you, but I am always in need of quick, weekday meals.  Since my mom gave Kevin and me a copy of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day we usually have some dough chillin’ in the fridge.  Lately, we’ve been rolling out the dough from the original recipe and making pizza crusts.  After a quick preheat, lunch or dinner is ready in a matter of minutes!  There’s only one problem: I’ve always been on the fence about prepared pizza sauce, and when I tried experimenting on my own, my sauces were runny or flavorless, so I always caved in to convenience and bought the over-priced pizza sauce at the store even though I knew it was something I could make on my own.

Enter the California Heritage Cookbook’s recipe for pizza sauce.  It’s one of the few vintage cookbooks I own that has a recipe for pizza, so I decided to put it to the test.  Well, I will never buy pizza sauce again.  This recipe yielded a thick sauce that was both sweet and spicy.  And, it freezes perfectly too!  Take that, Thursday evenings.

Pizza Sauce

(adapted from The California Heritage Cookbook, c. 1976)

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 28 oz. can tomato puree

1 12 oz. can tomato paste

1 tbsp. of each of the following fresh herbs, chopped: fresh oregano, basil, thyme, and parsley

1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1. Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil on medium heat for 5 minutes, or until soft.

2. Add tomato puree and paste and cook over low heat for another 10 minutes.

3. Add herbs and pepper flakes and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

4. Spread on pizza dough along with your favorite toppings.  (We had fresh mozzarella and prosciutto.)

5. Freeze any extra sauce for up to 2 months.

6 Comments

  1. Reply
    Jasmine May 21, 2010

    I have really have to get that 5 mins a day cookbook!

  2. Reply

    Friday or Saturday nights are pizza nights at our place … nothing like having another homemade pizza sauce to add to the repertoire! Salut!

  3. Reply
    Kate May 21, 2010

    I am happy to know that I have a vintage cookbook! You are probably on the fence because of the time you worked in the pizza parlor! 🙂

  4. Reply
    Jane Ko May 23, 2010

    Spaghetti sauce does freeze well!
    Please participate in my giveaway at http://atasteofkoko.blogspot.com/2010/05/men-can-cook-feat-classic-spaghetti.html

  5. Reply
    theUngourmet May 23, 2010

    We love to eat pizza about once a week. Usually we do take and bake but I’ve been wanting to make one from scratch. Your sauce looks wonderfully rich and full of flavor! Thanks for the recipe!

  6. Reply
    Kate at Serendipity June 3, 2010

    Oh, yum! I always wonder why anyone would buy pizza sauce, when it’s so easy to make. This looks like it would have a fresh, lively taste to go with the mozzarella and prosciutto. Perfect.

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