Citrus Free Pomarola Fresh Tomato Sauce
This is the kind of sauce that makes you wonder why you ever reached for a jar. Ripe plum tomatoes are the star here, slow-simmered with onion, carrot, celery, and garlic until they completely break down into something deeply savory and silky. A pinch of sugar balances the natural acidity of the tomatoes, and fresh basil stirred in at the end keeps the flavor bright without any citrus in sight. Passing everything through a food mill gives the finished sauce that classic, restaurant-smooth texture that coats pasta beautifully. Many store-bought tomato sauces sneak in citric acid as a preservative, which can be a real problem — making your own from scratch means you know exactly what's in the pot. The finishing drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil pulls everything together with a gentle richness that feels genuinely Italian. It's the kind of base recipe you'll come back to all season long.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 3 lbs ripe plum tomatoes (about 10–12), roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 8 fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- 1
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and the onion is translucent, about 8–10 minutes.
- 2
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
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