Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce with Meatballs

My obsession to make the perfect Italian tomato sauce came when mr. & I ate at this local Italian restuarant "Fellini's Italian Eatery" located in Richmond Hill, ON.  Their homemade tomato sauce was top notch.  Simple. Clean. Full of Robust Favour.  Served overtop their spaghetti.  A splash of chili flakes.  A twist of one fork.  Perfect simplicity.  So I brought a jar of their homemade sauce (expensive!!!) to figure out each individual ingredient.  Was it worth the full $10? Yes.  But I was determine to put that $10 back in my wallet by making my own sauce.  Only problem was, you can't just use any kind of fresh tomatoes, not just any kind canned tomatoes.  It had to be just right.  Not acidic, sour or overly sweet.  No thanks to Costco, we found magic. 

According to some forums we read, San Marzano is the best brand for canned tomatoes.  Their tomatoes, grown in Italy, are naturally sweeter than the ones grown here in Ontario, or the States.  Their tomato flavour much more robust, hence the reason why my homemade Italian Tomato sauce became such a success.  The meatballs are from Costco as well and surprisely, they are amazing! Flavourful, not dried, Tender. A perfect pairing to the sauce. Now, I made variations of this sauce, one with fresh basils, and another with dried basils.  As it turns out, the one with dried basil had better dimension than the one with fresh basils.  So the choice is up to you.

Ingredients:
1 can of the above canned tomatoes
1 cup of water
1 & 1/2 large spanish onion - diced
5-6 cloves of garlic - roughly chopped
2tbsp of tomato paste
2-3tbsp of sweet roasted pepper - I buy the ones in glass jars.. mixed sweet peppers ;D
2-3tbsp of dried oregano
2-3tbsp of dried basil or alternatively - 15 leaves of fresh basil
1tbsp of dried chili flakes
1tbsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  In a slow cooking pot - turn to medium-high heat.
2.  Add a big splash of olive oil - Add garlic and onion - heat through for 2-3 mins.
3.  Should you use fresh basil, add at this point - heat for 1 min. If using dried basil, skip this step.
4.  Add tomato paste - stir
5.  Add can of tomato, sweet roasted pepper and begin to puncture the plum tomatoes to let juices out
6. Add water, dried oregano, sugar and should you choose to use the dried basil, add at this point, stir until well blend.
7.  Heat until you see small bubbles then immediately turn the heat to low and cover pot completely and let it simmer for 1 to 1&1/2 hr.
8.  Turn off heat to allow to cool.
9.  Transfer sauce to a blender to make sauce smoother.  If you have an imersion blender, even better.
10. Return sauce to pot, at time point, add your choice of meatballs, chili flakes and simmer for another 1/2hr. Add salt and pepper to taste.  If you feel more sugar is needed, add a pinch more.

The key to this recipe is SLOW simmering.  A secret to all good italian tomato sauce. 

The Meatball Sandwich is born as well. :D  Simple.
Carmelized onions - red onion - provolone cheese - your meatball tomato sauce.  A hearty meal.

Make the sauce over the weekend! It makes great and FAST meals during your busy weekdays.  Enjoy!