The most famous pizza in the world, Margherita, is also one of the simplest: tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella. The tomatoes aren’t even cooked. The classic tomato sauce is made simply by pureeing fresh Roma (plum) tomatoes with a little salt, maybe some olive oil, maybe some basil. It may well be the world’s easiest sauce to make.
Makes:
Takes:
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 can whole peeled plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, such as La Valle, with liquid (28 ounces)
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (44 ml)
- ¼ cup packed fresh basil leaves (21 g)
- 1 ⅛ teaspoons Morton coarse kosher salt (6 g)
Method
- Prep. Pour everything into a blender jar or deep 1-quart container. Use a blender (stick blender or countertop) to blend everything just until a bit chunky. Short pulses are best because overblending can make this sauce thin and completely puree the basil. Use immediately or refrigerate for 4 to 5 days. For a more uniform texture without the seeds, pass the tomatoes through a food mill. In that case, chop the basil.
Nutrition
This recipe has been adapted with permission from Mastering Pizza by Marc Vetri and David Joachim (Ten Speed Press, 2018).


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