Napoli Sauce to Make your Nonna Proud

I love making my own pasta and have recently been experimenting with sauces and pesto. I had made some ravioli and as I'm quite health conscious, I don't much like burned butter sauces. I wanted a sauce I could use that would be light enough to really emphasise the flavors in the ravioli (spiced butternut pumpkin*, basil and ricotta). A friend had given me a recipe for a basic Napoli sauce, which I tweaked a little and its really good. What I love about Italian food is making the most of simple flavors, it's not fancy or very complex, you just never knew tomatoes could taste so good!

Recipe:

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red capsicum* roasted, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• 4 tins of whole tomatoes (crushed with juice)
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp dried basil
• pepper to taste

 

Char the skin of the capsicum* over a gas jet or under a grill. When the skin looks black, allow to cool a bit and then peel off the skin. Chop capsicum finely.

Sauté onion in oil on moderate heat until the onion becomes soft and golden, add capsicum and cook for a few minutes more. Add garlic and turn heat up to high for 1-2 minutes.

Return to moderate heat and add tomato paste and cook for one minute

Add crushed tomatoes, herbs, stock cubes and pepper, simmer for approximately 45 minuts, stirring occasionally.

Cool sauce and store for 4-5 days or freeze for long term storage

Serves 8

 

* Butternut Pumpkin is also known as Butternut Squash 

*Red Capsicum is also known as Red Pepper