Celery Free Sugo di Pomodoro

Total time45 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time35 min

5.0

(24)

There is something deeply satisfying about a tomato sauce made entirely from scratch, and this classic Italian sugo delivers that rich, slow-cooked flavor without a single shortcut. San Marzano tomatoes are crushed by hand right at the start, giving the sauce a rustic, uneven texture that clings beautifully to pasta. Garlic blooms gently in olive oil with a pinch of red pepper flakes, building a fragrant base before the tomatoes ever hit the pan. A long, unhurried simmer transforms the sauce from bright and sharp to a deep brick-red with a naturally sweet, complex depth. Fresh basil torn in at the end keeps things vibrant, and an optional knob of butter rounds out the finish with a silky richness. Every ingredient here is straightforward and naturally free of hidden vegetable fillers or aromatic additions that can sneak into store-bought versions — what you see is exactly what you get. This is the kind of sauce worth making in a big batch and keeping on hand all week.

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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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