Napoli Sauce – Italian tomato sauce

The most important step in making a good Napoli sauce is in selecting the right tomatoes. I am sure homegrown tomatoes are great for a Napoli sauce, but I have tried and get the best results by using canned Italian tomatoes. A wise Italian explained to me to only use canned tomatoes that contain only tomatoes and tomato juice. The theory goes that additional citric acid is only ever added because the tomatoes were not fully ripe when they were canned in order to preserve them. Whether or not this is true by following this tip I have ended up with the best-tasting Napoli sauce.

This is a general-purpose sauce that can be used with pasta dishes, pizza toping, etc… I generally make a big pot full and freeze it in 2-cup quantities so it is always on hand to make a quick pasta, etc…

Here are the ingredients (oops, forgot the oregano), dried herbs are OK with this recipe. If I want to add fresh herbs, such as basil, I just use it on the pizza, etc., at the time I am cooking. Note if you don’t have access to vegetable stock cubes, 1/2 a liter of reduced vegetable stock is fine.

Before adding the tomatoes to the Napoli sauce a decision needs to be made. If you want a sweeter sauce, and I have seen some Napoli sauce recipes add sugar, you just need to put the tomatoes through a deseeding gadget. This is mine. It is a little clunky, but it does the job. The concept is that the seeds, when cooked, add bitterness to the flavor of the Napoli sauce, remove the seeds, and “hey presto” sweeter sauce.

Napoli Sauce

David Rout

The most important step in making a good Napoli sauce is in selecting the right tomatoes This is a general purpose sauce used on pizza, pasta etc

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine home cooking

Servings 6 people

Calories 23 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• Olive oil
• 1/2 Onion chopped up finely
• 1 tablespoon red capsicum chopped up finely
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic chopped up finely
• 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 400 g tins of tomatoes crushed
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• Pepper to season

Instructions

 

• Cook the onion in the olive oil until golden, then add the capsicum and garlic.
• After the garlic becomes aromatic add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute
• Add all remaining ingredients simmer for 45 minutes.
• Stir through 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and cool then store.

Notes

The key to picking canned tomatoes is to choose the ones that only contain tomatoes and juice with no additional food acid or preservatives. The theory here (or old Italian wives tale) is that if the tomatoes are ripe when they are canned the additives are not needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 150mlCalories: 23kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 1gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.05gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 334mgPotassium: 166mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 155IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Homemade pasta sauce, Italian Napoli sauce, Tomato-based sauce

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