Sweet Basil Sauce

Once upon a time at a pre-spring seed sale at either Home Depot or Lowes I found a pack of tomato seeds that were marked as being "San Marzano variety." Authentic San Marzano tomatoes are prized for their low-acid profile and are often used in sauces. In 2020 we had a fairly good crop from the few plants I cultivated in the garden beds around the yard. I also planted a fair amount of sweet basil herb.

Classico Sweet Basil pasta sauce is one of our favorite tomato-based sauces for pasta here at home. So with our home-grown San Marzano-esque tomatoes and sweet basil, I set out to make a tomato sauce that approximated Classico's.

• 1 qt reduced tomato puree
• 1 clove garlic, fine dice
• 12 to 16 large basil leaves
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp sea salt