Building a Perfect Pie, Part II - The Sauce!

OK, so I blogged earlier that I'd finally found the perfect pizza crust, so I could switch my focus to the figuring out the sauce.  I've been working on both a red sauce and a white sauce, but in case you missed the big picture to the left, this blog post is about the red one.  ; )

For me, the sauce can make or break a pizza.  Some are too salty- I mean how much salt do you need when you have salt in the toppings, the cheese and the crust?  Then there are the sickeningly sweet sauces, which are good for dipping your bread sticks in, but are a no go for pizza.  We won't even talk about the ones with the weird, unidentifiable ingredients.

This simple sauce has just the right amount of seasonings with no crazy ingredients to buy.  The only trick is that you MUST make it a day ahead if possible.  It takes a while for the seasonings to mesh together.  If you taste test it too early, you will be tempted to toss in the trashcan, so be patient and magical things will happen.  You can add your salt and pepper after the sauce has had time to set out.

It makes enough for 1 large pizza or 2 if you prefer your pizza lightly sauced.

Recipe
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 c water
1/3 c olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients, except salt and pepper, cover and place in fridge overnight.  Don't adjust seasonings until after the sauce has rested overnight.

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Source:  Adapted from AllRecipes