Homemade Pizza Sauce

When it comes to pizza, it’s all about the dough and the sauce. It’s almost impossible to choose the wrong toppings, when you’ve taken care of those two things.
This is a sweet, slow-cooked pizza sauce with fresh basil and oregano I grew in my backyard.
I didn’t add any salt to the sauce, but because most of the meat toppings are salty on their own, you won't miss it.

Ingredients: Makes enough sauce for three to four 12” pizzas
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 tbs unsalted butter
1/2 large white onion, chopped
4 tbs fresh basil, chopped
2 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves

Preparation:
Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
Add onion and saute for a couple of minutes.
Add garlic and saute for another minute.
Add chopped basil and oregano and stir for about a minute.
Add the tomato paste and incorporate fully into the sauce.
Add the brown sugar, olive oil and the rest of the spices.
Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then add the crushed tomatoes and the bay leaves.
Simmer for about 40 minutes with the cover slightly ajar.

Photograph by Michael Findley