Black Pepper Free Sugo di Pomodoro
There is something deeply satisfying about a tomato sauce made with just a handful of honest ingredients, and this classic Italian sugo delivers exactly that. San Marzano tomatoes, slowly simmered with golden garlic and a whisper of red pepper flakes, build into a rich, brick-red sauce that tastes like it took far more effort than it did. The slow simmer is the real magic here — it coaxes out a natural sweetness and depth that no shortcut can replicate. For anyone navigating a sensitivity to black pepper, this recipe is a genuine find, because it relies entirely on red pepper flakes for its gentle heat, leaving the finished sauce completely free of that common irritant. A few torn basil leaves stirred in at the end brighten everything up, and the optional pat of butter rounds out the flavor with a silky, restaurant-worthy finish. Toss it with pasta, spoon it over polenta, or use it as a base for whatever you're building — this is the kind of sauce worth keeping in your regular rotation.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 fresh basil leaves
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and crush them by hand, squeezing each tomato until broken into rough, uneven pieces. Set aside.
- 2
Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is pale golden and fragrant, about 3–4 minutes. Watch closely — the garlic can color quickly.
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