Homemade Marinara Sauce

This quick sauce recipe is compliments of America's Test Kitchen. It works well for pizzas, pastas or a basic marinara dipping sauce.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion , from 1 medium onion
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper

1. Heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and ½ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar; increase heat to high and bring to simmer.
3. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.
4. Off heat, stir in basil and olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Serve.

The changes I made to this recipe is that I cooked the sauce a little longer than 10 minutes. Tomatoes in general need atleast 20 minutes to cook. I cooked the sauce for roughly 30 minutes and it thickened up quite nicely.

A few things I learned from that particular show is that the use of butter instead of olive oil at the beginning really enhances the flavors. Secondly, grating the onion helps to bring out the sweetness of the onion. Third, when using canned tomatoes for a quick sauce like this one, always check the ingredients on the label. The first ingredient must be tomatoes and not tomato puree. Finally, adding the olive oil at the end changes the flavor of the sauce completely. These tips were very helpful so I thought I would pass them on. B appreciated the sauce as well, and was thankful that I stuck to the recipe and did not "desi-fy" it with too many Indian spices. I did add crushed pepper flakes for heat. Other than that, this recipe was great!