Bicoastal pizza sauce


Bicoastal pizza sauce

This recipe for a versatile pizza sauce was inspired by a basic New York Times recipe featuring crushed tomatoes, herbs de Provence, and olive oil. It's kicked up a notch by adding crushed chilis, balsamic vinegar, fennel seeds, and a touch of honey.

This sauce serves as a blank canvas for an endless array of summer vegetables and cheeses sourced from your local farmers market. Try topping it with sliced heirloom tomatoes, a sprinkle of mozzarella, and julienned fresh basil after baking for a delicious pizza margherita.

Feel free to customize the toppings to your preferences, and freeze any leftovers for future pizzas.

Servings: 2 12-inch pizzas

Ingredients

  • 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon herbs de provence or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil and 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chilis
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Add the crushed tomatoes to a medium sauce pan. 
  2. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a simmer and I suggest covering with a splatter screen (if you don't use one, you will see what I mean). 
  3. immer for about 25 mins or until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.

Nutrition information (per serving)

  • Serving size: 1/8 of recipe
  • Calories: 85
  • Total fat: 6 g
  • Saturated fat: 1 g
  • Trans fat: 0 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg
  • Sodium: 21 mg
  • Total carbohydrate: 9 g
  • Dietary fiber: 2 g
  • Protein: 2 g

Note: Nutrition calculated using no-salt added canned tomatoes and no added salt.