Recipe: Simple Pizza Sauce - Salsa Semplice

SIMPLE PIZZA SAUCE - SALSA SEMPLICE
"People are amazed when we tell them that Neapolitans do not put tomato sauce on pizza, but it's true. Since commercial pizza ovens are so hot, a precooked sauce would burn and overcook while the pizza bakes. Instead, the typical tomato topping is nothing more than ripe, fresh crushed tomatoes or canned San Marzano tomatoes.

We find that while drained fresh, ripe tomatoes taste great, canned tomatoes cooked on a pizza in our home oven, no matter how good their quality, taste like canned tomatoes. The baking temperature in a home oven is not high enough so the tomatoes simply don't cook enough to become sweet. To counteract this, we simmer canned tomatoes briefly first with some oil and salt.

If you prefer a smooth sauce or use anything other than canned San Marzano tomatoes, puree the tomatoes first by passing them through a food mill. Do not use a food processor, which only grinds up the seeds and makes the sauce bitter."

1 (28 ounce) can Italian peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, with their juice*
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt

In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes, oil, and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.

Let the sauce cool before spreading it on the pizza dough.

*Variation (using fresh tomatoes):
When vine-ripened tomatoes are at their peak in our area, we use them instead of canned and freeze a big batch of pizza sauce. Prepare the tomatoes: Bring a medium saucepan of water to boiling. Add the tomatoes and leave them in the pan for 30 seconds. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon. Cool them under running water. Cut the tomatoes in half through the core and cut away the stem ends. The skins should slip off easily. Squeeze the tomatoes to extract the juice and seeds. Chop the tomatoes coarsely. Follow the proceeding instructions. Refrigerate the sauce up to one week or freeze it in 1- to 2- cup containers up to 3 months.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Pizza by Michele Scicolone, Charles Scicolone