The Best Pasta Sauce Ever

The Best Pasta Sauce Ever

I generally consider myself to be a humble home cook. However, this pasta sauce is absolutely the BEST pasta sauce I have ever made and possibly the best pasta sauce I have ever tasted. So there.

This sauce was so delicious that I transferred it to a glass jar just to see how good it would look when I decide to market it to the masses. Doesn’t that look amazing? Ahhh… but now I am kidding. Truthfully, it was so easy to make the Best Pasta Sauce Ever that I will quickly share the steps so that you, too, can wow your friends and family. In fact, the kiddos’ sitter really did not believe that I made it. I was kind of flattered – but then I was concerned … does she think I am not really that good of a cook? Hmmm…

Anyone can make this sauce and it will take you about 20 or 30 minutes – possibly less time than it takes you to boil water and cook your pasta. Get going!

We use a lot of garlic here

Ingredients:  

2 slices of bacon, chopped
5 or 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large tomatoes (fresh and local will make you the best sauce), chopped

Tiny, tiny pieces of zucchini

1 zucchini, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried oregano
A few leaves fresh basil, finely chopped
A tiny pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh ground pepper, a few turns
A shake or two of kosher salt

Directions: 

Fry the 2 slices of bacon in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the onion and then the garlic and cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes and the seasonings. Stir constantly, mashing the tomatoes as they cook so that it all starts to resemble pasta sauce. Add the finely chopped zucchini and continue stirring and cooking.  

Add the chopped onion to the crispy bacon

Chopped tomatoes … ready for some gentle mashing

I have read many, many spaghetti sauce recipes and they all involve hours of simmering. I am certain that hours of simmering will result in excellent sauce, however, I don’t always have hours of time on our hands to devote to that kind of cooking. This pasta sauce has a fresh taste – the zucchini is even still green when it is served over the pasta! These tomatoes came from Mac Edgerton’s farm in Rutherfordton, NC. While I can still get my hands on some of this local goodness, I might have to devote an afternoon to making some extra to enjoy this winter and give us all a little taste of summer when summer is long gone.