San Marzano Tomatoes are one of the best tomatoes to be used in a pizza sauce. They are authentic and are unlike any other tomatoes in the world.
These tomatoes are carefully handpicked and are sealed with the authenticity stamp. The best San Marzano Pizza Sauce Recipes are cooked with a very delicate process.
San Marzano tomatoes are the most sought after plum tomatoes from Italy. They are grown in nutrient-rich volcanic soil at the base of Mount Vesuvius.
The nutrient-rich soil where these tomatoes are grown gives them the sweetness that it needs and it also makes the tomatoes less acidic.
A San Marzano Tomato that was grown in perfect conditions also has a deep red color and the soil gives them so much nutrient with fewer seeds compared to most plum tomatoes.
In fact, the regular tomatoes that are grown in other parts of the world have four seed pockets while authentic San Marzano tomatoes have only two.
The skin of the tomatoes is also thin and can be peeled easily. However, these tomatoes are not grown solely in Italy, many countries such as America grow their own San Marzano tomatoes.
The tomatoes that have Europe’s Denominazione d’ Origine Protetta (DOP) seal are the ones that came from Italy and are carefully grown with strict rules to determine authenticity.
So without further ado, here are the best San Marzano Pizza Sauce Recipes that we have for you!
1. Classic San Marzano Pizza Sauce
We found out that the best tomatoes are made from Italy and are canned for them to be preserved and delivered around the world.
These tomatoes are heated enough to be able to attain consistency and to keep the flavor even after they are delivered to places far from where they originated.
Ingredients
– 28oz can of San Marzano Tomatoes
– 2 cloves of garlic
– Half teaspoon of salt
– ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
– Half teaspoon of dried Oregano
– A pinch of crushed red peppers
Directions
Step 1. Open the can of tomatoes and see whether it still has stems or not. If so, remove the stem from the tomato.
Step 2. Put the tomatoes in a bowl including the juice from the can. This will serve as a solvent to make the next step easier.
Step 3. Mash the tomatoes with your hand or with a potato masher until the tomatoes are completely broken up with even consistency.
Step 4. Pour the mashed tomatoes into a sieve or screener. You can also use a clean white cloth with holes small enough for the tomato pulps to stay.
Step 5. Let the tomatoes drain for at least an hour or when the water is separated from the tomato plums.
Step 6. Crush the garlic cloves with a garlic press or with a knife.
Step 7. Combine the drained tomatoes, the garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper, and the red pepper in a bowl.
Step 8. Crush the mix until it has all the ingredients mixed together evenly. If the mixture still has some lumps, continue to rush it with a potato masher.
Do not use a blender because it will only break the seeds allowing that bitter flavor to come out and combine with the sauce.
You can also opt to remove the seeds first if you really want to use a blender.
Step 9. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it rest for a few hours at room temperature. It is recommended to let it rest for at least a day to get the best results.
You can also refrigerate the sauce and it can last up to 4 days. Refrigerating the sauce will give the sauce a more creamy rather than juicy finish.
Step 10. Get it out of the fridge and start cooking your pizza.
You can follow this video on how to make a pizza sauce that had its juices drained to see better and more detailed instructions on what to do.
Some notes
This technique is commonly used for most pizzas. The sauce does not have a lot of water in it to avoid damaging your dough when the pizza is cooking.
The flavor of the pizza sauce will also depend on you. So if this recipe does not match your taste, then you can always add some more salt and pepper to your liking.
Since the tomatoes are already heated, there is no need to cook the sauce before storing it. It will cook evenly with the pizza once you are cooking.
1. The No-drain Pizza sauce
This recipe is very quick and easy. You can do this in less than an hour and the results will blow your mind.
As this requires no draining of the juices from the tomatoes, you will need to be careful and make the mixture as consistent as possible.
This recipe will also be different in a way that you can use a blender in order to attain consistency in the mixture.
Ingredients
– 28oz of canned San Marzano Tomatoes
– 2 tablespoons of extra virgin Olive Oil
– 1 teaspoon of Italian sea salt
– 1 teaspoon of black pepper
– 4 large cloves of garlic
– 4 basil leaves
Directions
Step 1. Put all the contents of the San Marzano Tomatoes in a blender including the juice.
Step 2. Add the black pepper and the Italian sea salt in the blender as well.
Step 3. Get the cloves of garlic and then mash them with a knife. Then you will also need to chop them into small pieces.
Step 4. Get two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and then heat it up in a pan with medium heat.
Step 5. Once heated, put the garlic in the pan and stir it regularly to get an even cook. Make sure not to burn the garlic to prevent the bitter taste from it.
This technique is to give more flavor to the olive oil before putting it into the mixture.
Step 6. Without removing the garlic, put the olive oil in the blender along with the tomatoes and start blending.
Step 7. Blend the tomatoes, the garlic, the black pepper, and the olive oil for about 10 to 15 seconds.
Make sure to not blend it for too long or else you are going to get a lot of bubbles in the mixture. Just blend it to make sure that the sauce will be even.
Step 8. Cut the basil leaves with a knife or scissors and then put them in the mixture.
Step 9. Stir the sauce with a ladle to make sure that the basil is evenly distributed.
Step 10. Put the mixture in a bowl and then cover it. Let it sit for about an hour at room temperature for the sauce to get more of the fragrance from the basil leaves.
Step 11. Put the bowl in a refrigerator to thicken a little bit and use it after a day of refrigerating for the best results.
Some notes
This technique leaves a lot of water in the mixture so naturally, the water will go on top of the mixture while the pulp of tomatoes and the other ingredients will settle at the bottom.
So before using it, you need to mix the contents in the bowl to make sure that the sauce has a certain consistency, and not too much water is in it.
Also, be careful not to put too much sauce on your dough so when it cooks, the pizza will not come out with a soggy texture.
You can check out the full recipe and video guide here.
3. Cooked Sauce
This technique will last longer than most tomato sauces that are usually raw. Since all the unnecessary bacteria are cooked off, it will last longer in storage.
The key here is to make an authentic sauce that will not be overcooked when you get the pizza in the oven. All you need is to cook it just right and get all the flavors mixed together.
Ingredients
– 28oz of canned San Marzana Tomatoes
– 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
– Half cup of chopped onions
– 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
– 1 tablespoon of tomato paste (optional)
– 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
– 1 teaspoon of black pepper
Directions
Step 1. Heat up a pan and put the olive oil in it. Once the olive oil is heated, turn the heat down to medium.
Step 2. Put the onions first and let it sweat for a little bit before adding the garlic. Continue stirring with a spatula until the color has gone down to golden brown.
Step 3. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste and let it cook for about a minute.
Step 4. Put all the San Marzano tomatoes in the pot and stir it occasionally. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the fire for it to continue simmering.
This will take about 20 minutes of occasional stirring to stimulate all the flavors and combine them all together.
Step 5. At the halfway point, season the mixture with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Step 6. Before the sauce starts to evaporate, make sure to mash the whole tomatoes in the mixture. You can do this with a spatula but we find it easier to do with a whisk.
This will let you get the right texture that you want on your sauce. It is also more consistent than a spatula.
Step 7. Check the seasoning and make sure that it has the right consistency, texture, and taste. You can add more salt or pepper to your liking.
Step 8. Turn the stove off and then place the pot on a cold surface to stop the cooking process.
Step 9. Transfer the sauce into a bowl and let it rest until it reaches room temperature.
Step 10. Place it in any container, cover, and then store it in the fridge. This cooked sauce will last for about a week and can cook 4 to 6 pizzas.
Check out the full video guide and recipe here.
Some notes
Be careful not to overcook the sauce to make sure that you would still have the right texture with a little bit of wetness but not too dry.
Remember that there are ingredients that are optional and will cater to your taste so you can veer a little bit off from this recipe and season your sauce to your liking.
You can also get a guide on how to choose the best pizza sauce along with the recipes mentioned above in this video.
Conclusion
Making your own pizza sauce is not that hard although there would be mistakes along the way so you will need to practice often.
You will also need to get the best ingredients and San Marzano tomatoes are definitely the best ingredients when making a pizza sauce.
We hope that the recipes above will give you the best judgment in making the best pizza sauce that you can. So let us know what you think!
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