Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce. 2.3g carbs. It’s delicious, super easy, and ultra quick.
‘Sugo di pomodoro‘, as it’s called in Italy, is a tomato-based sauce ready in just a few minutes. Italians traditionally serve pasta coated (not drenched) in sugo di pomodoro and topped with a generous amount of Parmigiano Reggiano. It would be the ultimate and healthiest ‘fast food’, if it weren’t for all the starch and gluten in pasta.
Once you add dairy or coconut cream, mascarpone, or even crème fraîche to it, you end up with the best and most versatile keto sauce for your low-carb pasta. But its uses are infinite. From pizza topping to stews and lasagna, to name just a few… With this tomato sauce the culinary world will be your oyster.
How to Make Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
There are regional variations of Italian sugo di pomodoro, so you may find different spices and herbs in other recipes.
A classic Northern Italian sugo, should be smooth, delicately seasoned yet rich in umami flavours, and with no chunky tomatoes, onion or garlic. Hence why it needs passata (sieved tomatoes) – rather than chopped tomatoes, and a soffritto of garlic and shallot.
Soffritto is a technique that entails infusing the cooking fat with finely chopped vegetables. For meat-based stews, the classic soffritto consists of finely chopped onion, carrot and celery. But for sugo di pomodoro you use a clove of garlic and a small shallot. Slice them thinly and fry them gently in extra virgin olive oil for 2 minutes at most. Watch them like a hawk, because you absolutely don’t want them to burn, or they’ll leave behind an unpleasant, bitter flavour. As soon as the lightest gold tinge begins to appear, discard them.
Yep. You read that correctly. It is a myth that all Italian dishes contain tons of onion and garlic. Central and Southern Italian cuisine loves these two, as well as hot chillies. Not the same in Northern Italian cuisine. And there’s definitely no place for chunky onion and garlic in sugo di pomodoro.
Soffritto over, you can add passata, herbs and seasonings, stir, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a very gentle simmer. 3 minutes later, your sauce is ready. Leave it to cool, then transfer it to a jam jar, tighten the lid and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
The sauce will thicken and become concentrated as it cools. 60g is more than enough for one serving. Loosen it with some water, add cream, mascarpone, or crème fraîche, mix in your favourite keto pasta, sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmigiano and feast on a cheap but heavenly Italian meal.
Enjoy!
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Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 20 g extra virgin olive oil (U.S. option HERE)
- 1 garlic clove - finely sliced
- 1 shallot - finely sliced
- 300 g tomato passata - or chopped tomatoes if you prefer a chunkier version
- 10 g tomato purée
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary)
- 1 sprinkle ground white/black pepper
- ½ tsp fine himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
Instructions
- place oil in a small saucepan, add sliced garlic and shallot, and cook over medium-low heat until soft (about 2 minutes).20 g extra virgin olive oil, 1 garlic clove, 1 shallot
- discard garlic and shallot, add all ingredients, stir, bring to the boil, then put the lid on and turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer.300 g tomato passata, 10 g tomato purée, ¼ tsp grated nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground cloves, 2 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs, 1 sprinkle ground white/black pepper, ½ tsp fine himalayan pink salt
- after 3 minutes, remove pan from heat source and leave it to cool.
- taste and adjust seasoning if required, then transfer to a jam jar, put the lid on and keep refrigerated.
Notes
Nutrition
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