My family and I make our own tomato sauce. We don’t buy it jarred, canned, or frozen. We chop our fresh tomatoes, garlic, onions, and basil…as well as some sassier ingredients here and there (capers, anchovies, or eggplant anybody? Oh yeah!). We’re not Italian. But, our tomato sauce tastes Italian. And, we make our own sauce. Period.
The above statement has been driven into my head my whole life. I didn’t even know tomato sauce came in a jar when I was a kid. But…here’s the deal. I’m in grad school, temporarily living in a subleased apartment in North Carolina (which is basically a glorified hotel room with a kitchen from 1982), while my fiancé lives up in Chicago in our beautiful apartment with all of our appliances and our gorgeous Xtrema 100% Ceramic Cookware pots and pans. And…while tasting some of the delicious sauce that my mom and dad taught me how to make when I was as young as six years old sounds amazing after a long day at the library (and walking up hill both ways in the snow), cooking it is a different story. I have neither the time nor the equipment to give my family’s sauce the love it requires and deserves. So, have I been depriving myself of rich and delicious marinara, tangy puttanesca, or spicy arrabiata sauce? Nope. And, here’s why. Do NOT tell my mom or dad, but I’ve found a jarred, healthy, clean, and delicious sauce that rivals theirs. Seriously.
Rao’s Speciality Foods is a brand that Clean Cuisine has talked about for years, but only recently did I actually try their products. Rao’s uses the freshest and finest ingredients for their products, which range from any kind of pasta sauce you can imagine (tomato basil, garden vegetable, roasted eggplant….there are even more) to organic balsamic vinegar, whole wheat pasta, and extra virgin olive oil (the real stuff). Oh, and did I mention that Rao’s sauce is clean? If you are a whole-grain pasta lover like me, you must try Rao’s tomato sauce. Tell your friends. Just don’t tell my parents. Please.
Kathleen Bloom says
What is your recipe for fresh tomato sauce. I have a ton of tomatoes. Thank you Ivy
Aimee Harris Niedosik says
We have so many amazing recipes for tomato sauce here on the blog — try these ones: https://cleancuisine.com/cherry-tomato-sauce-recipe/, https://cleancuisine.com/red-sauce-recipe/ and https://cleancuisine.com/hidden-vegetable-sauce/