Introduction: Classic Tomato Sauce

About: Made in Canada, I grew up crafting, making, and baking. Out of this love for designing and creating, I pursued a degree in product design from Parsons School of Design in NYC. Since then I've done work for Mar…

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins."

- Laurie Colwin, 'Home Cooking'

The tomato sauce we’ll be making in this lesson is hands down the best tomato sauce I’ve ever had. It comes from award winning chef Marc Vetri’s book, Mastering Pasta.

Step 1: Classic Tomato Sauce Recipe

Serving Size: Enough for 8-12 servings of pasta. (8 as a main dish, 12 as an appetizer)

Part 1:

  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 whole clove garlic
  • 1 can (28oz/794g) whole San Marzano tomatoes (~3 1/2 cups)

Part 2:

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 pound (454g) fresh plum tomatoes (approx. 8)

Step 2: Quiz Time!

Once you've watched the video lesson, put your knowledge to the test! Take the quizzes below and see how you do.

{
    "id": "quiz-1",
    "question": "Is this the best tomato sauce I, your instructor, have ever had?",
    "answers": [
        {
            "title": "No",
            "correct": false
        },
        {
            "title": "Yes",
            "correct": true
        }
    ],
    "correctNotice": "You bet it is! When the two recipe halves mix together, it creates layers of flavor that I am quite literally in love with. Don't tell my boyfriend. ",
    "incorrectNotice": "Sorry, wrong answer."
}
{
    "id": "quiz-2",
    "question": "Is it fun to squish the tomatoes by hand?",
    "answers": [
        {
            "title": "Yes",
            "correct": true
        },
        {
            "title": "No",
            "correct": false
        }
    ],
    "correctNotice": "I thinks so, but there's no wrong answer for this one. Not everyone likes to play with their food like I do!",
    "incorrectNotice": "That's incorrect"
}
{
    "id": "quiz-3",
    "question": "Is the goal to make the onions brown or translucent?",
    "answers": [
        {
            "title": "Translucent",
            "correct": true
        },
        {
            "title": "Brown",
            "correct": false
        }
    ],
    "correctNotice": "That's correct! This keeps the onions sweet and mild so they don't overpower the tomato flavor.",
    "incorrectNotice": "That's incorrect"
}