Simple Cooked Pizza Sauce

I normally use my One-Minute Pizza Sauce recipe (see my Whisk profile or the Lace Bakes community on Whisk, but for certain occasions I like to cook my pizza sauce. One such occasion is when I make my Detroit-style Focaccia pizza which is just better with cooked (vs raw) pizza sauce. Cooking the pizza sauce deepens its flavour.

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Add the olive oil and minced garlic into a small saucepan and gently bring it to a simmer over a medium high heat. Once it has reached a simmer, let the garlic simmer in the oil for about a minute or two. You just want to cook off the abrasive raw garlic taste, but you don't want the garlic to burn/brown. Add in pinch of chilli flakes as the oil simmers if you'd like them.

Step 2

Add in the can of crushed tomatoes and flaky sea salt. Add a pinch or two of granulated sugar - the sugar helps to balance the acidity in the tomatoes. If you plan to add any optional dried herbs, now is the time to do it. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce to simmer over a low heat, uncovered for about 10 minutes. Stir in the freshly chopped basil and continue simmering for another 5 -10 minutes. The sauce will thicken up a bit.

Step 3

Taste the sauce and add in more salt or sugar if you need it.