by Shannon Farlouis

Created on: July 06, 2010   Last Updated: July 07, 2010

Italian Pasta Sauce

This is an excellent recipe for Italian Pasta Sauce. Being that I am half Italian, we have Italian Pasta Sauce every Sunday for dinner. It is an Italian tradition to serve this excellent tasting sauce to our family, friends, and guests. I hope that you will enjoy preparing and serving it as much as I do. Very simple and easy to make, it may also be cooked using the microwave which means less time in the kitchen.

 The sauce is excellent for serving over pasta or spaghetti with fresh hot garlic bread. This is a very tasty sauce that may be served hot, warm or cold. It is great for dipping bread sticks. It may even be used in making homemade Italian pizza. It has a mild sweet taste. The seasoning really brings out the Italian flavor. To really add zest to the sauce, you may sprinkle a bit of Parmesean cheese when serving. It is really a delicious sauce that guests will love. This sauce has been a tradition for many, many years. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

3 tablespoons of dried parsley

3 tablespoons of onion, chopped

1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning

1 can of whole tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

4 Basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add the garlic and saute' for 3 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes, parsley, and onion. Stir well. Break up tomatoes with spoon into small pieces.

4. Add Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt, sugar, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

5. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add chopped basil leaves.

6. Serve the sauce with spaghetti or pasta.

How to Microwave Italian Pasta Sauce

Ingredients are the same as the stove top method.

Directions:

1. In a microwave safe dish, add olive oil, garlic, parsley and onion. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

2. Break the tomatoes up into smaller pieces with a spoon and add to the onion-garlic mixture. Microwave on high for 8 minutes.

3. Add the Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt, sugar, and pepper and microwave for 3 minutes.

4. Let cool for 4 minutes. Add the basil leaves.

5. Serve the sauce hot over pasta or spaghetti. Enjoy!

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