Sugo Al Pomodoro / Marinara Sauce (Basic Tomato Sauce for Pasta)

"Relax, Sit down, serve yourself a little pasta & taste life"

Now that's what I do, when I make Pasta, the love for it just grows each time I make them! And what if some good sauce is combined to it...the pasta only develops its full flavour then. Sauces are of many types which are used in Pastas. Cream and butter sauces blend very well with fresh egg pasta, Meat sauce (Ragu) is so good with any tubular shaped ones, seafood sauces are ideally suited for thin noodle shaped pastas such as linguine, spaghetti or stuffed ones like ravioli. But for the dried pastas, which we normally stock it up in our pantry, a typical tomato sauce is all you need to make. 

To start with, I am posting the basic tomato sauce recipe otherwie known as Sugo Al Pomodoro ("Sugo" means sauce or juice & "Pomodoro" means Tomato). Now there's quite a confusion between some of the Italian culinary words which I just can't figure it out, such as, "Sugo" and "Salsa". If you know, please do share the info. Also I have titled this post as both "Sugo Al Pomodoro" and "Marinara Sauce" because the recipe is the same for both the sauce. The only difference I read was that, Sugo di Pomodoro is smooth and chunk free and is used for pizzas but Marinara sauce (originated from South Italy) has chunks of tomatoes in it and is thick, perfect for any pasta dish. I really don't know the exact difference yet....Italian friends out there, please help me understand! 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 big fresh red tomatoes (finely chopped)
• 1 medium onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree or tomato ketchup
• 2-3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper to season
• 4-5 fresh basil leaves (finely chopped) or 1 tbsp crushed dried basil

Method: 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat.
2. After a minute, add the chopped garlic, chopped onion to the pan & saute till they turn translucent.
3. Now throw in the chopped tomatoes to the pan & allow it to leave its juices and allow it to start thicken.
4. Add the tomato puree or the ketchup at the thickening stage along with salt & pepper.
5. Add the basil & simmer the heat for 10-12 minutes until the sauce fully thickens, perfect for any pasta dish.