Pasta Sauce

The Crispi family makes sauce from scratch every summer at the Staten Island Canning Festival.  They then freeze the results and enjoy it all year long. They do not write down the step-by-step process and exact ingredients, nor do they share their recipes.  For a delicious replica, however, you can make your own marinara pasta by following this easy recipe from Kelly Senyei’s blog, Just A Taste: 10 minute Homemade Tomato Pasta Sauce. Read the Crispi family’s story here.

A plate of homemade pasta. Photo: Jenna Dagenhart.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, allowing it to warm for 1 minute, then add the garlic and sauté it for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it’s golden brown and fragrant.

Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes (optional), stirring to combine. Simmer the sauce for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season it with additional salt, pepper or sugar, to taste.

Nutritional information:

All per serving:

Calories: 80
fat: 3g
protein: 3g
sodium: 300mg

Cost:
$4.00

[These are not cookbook recipes. Some home cooks work from written recipes, but many know their favorite dishes by heart, or improvise on the spot, or define a home-cooked meal as take-out put on a plate. We offer these as a closer look at what our 12 New Yorkers had for dinner, whether it was a set of traditional recipes, or take-out, or even a sandwich consumed first thing in the morning.]

NYTable