I'm competing against a co-worker in "pizza battles". Can you give me a tomato sauce recipe that will beat him?

I have made something like 50 pizzas in the past few months after discovering the world’s best pizza crust recipe (I keep getting requests). In my humble opinion, the best pizza sauce is a simple one. What they do in Italy is so simple you wouldn’t believe how delicious it is. Depending on where you live and whether a store near you stocks it, grab a box of Pomi strained tomatoes and apply that directly to the top of the pizza dough. At that point, you can salt it lightly if you like (I have found this unnecessary as long as the dough has enough salt), then take a good, pungent dried oregano, crushing with your fingers as you sprinkle it liberally over the tomato sauce. Add cheese and toppings and you’re all set.

If you can’t get Pomi near you, the next best thing is to find a good brand of canned stewed tomatoes. I like Italbrand more than any other. Dump the can into a saucepan and use an immersion blender to make smooth. Then simmer until it cooks down to a sauce-like consistency. Personally, I like the Pomi better, but this method works really well if you don’t have any on hand.

I personally love tomato sauce, onion, italian seasoning, and basil. But if you feel adventerous, Encyclopizza has a lot of interesting sauce recipes.

@MissAnthrope : You can’t mention the world’s best pizza crust recipe and then not tell us…

Ha.. sorry about that. I raved about it in another thread and it seemed like people were skeptical, so I didn’t want to seem like a pizza dough zealot.

Here is the recipe. I use honey instead of sugar and at least double the salt that is called for. I try to cook it as hot as possible, usually 500 degrees F works. I’ve had issues with different ovens (most were fine, but in others, the cheese majorly browned before the crust was finished), so my workaround was that I sprinkled some cornmeal on a baking sheet, laid out the crust, then sauced and oreganoed, but I held off on the cheese and toppings. I prebaked the sauced crust about 4–5 minutes, pulled it out, then added cheese and toppings, then back in the oven until the crust is finished.

When you get the recipe right, with a good rise, the crust is amazing!

i suggest doing an alfredo sauce, or some other alternate that’s popular. done right, you’ll have a delicious pizza that just might edge out a tomatoe-based pie.

Try Prego meat sauce. I LOVE that stuff! : )

I do not care for sliced tomatoes on a pizza; I like a sauce. Best one I’ve had is Apian Way (in a box); next is Boboli.
If you take a can of tomato sauce and simmer it with crushed garlic, basil, a little sugar, chopped onions and oregano it should be very good.

tomato sauce should be simple with aromatic notes of basil, garlic, fresh parmesan, good wine and quality canned tomatoes per tyler florence on the food network. see his recent sunday telecast of veal with said tomatoes. go to foodnetwork.com

to break the acidity and smooth out flavor, gentle amount of sugar rounds out boldness. carmelized onions add a subtle whimsy along with fresh oregano.

My wife had an Italian in-law once who put in a huge amount of salt in her recipe, as contrary as it sounds to good nutrition, it tasted awesome! Just look at the labels of some of your favorite foods to see the “sense” in that. And only you have to know how bad it is for you. You wanna win, right?

My magic ingredient for the sauce is grape jelly. After I cook down the canned tomatoes and spices, I add half a cup of jelly and simmer for a couple of minutes. Cool to room tempature and add to crust. Always great.

@YoH, I can’t imagine why grape jelly would make a great sauce. I almost think you’re messing with me but I can’t tell. Do explain. :)

Grape jelly is a very popular additive to BBQ sauce as well.

@silverfly Seriously,the grape jelly serves as a sweetner with tang. Sugar and wine could be used instead but the jelly works great and is far more practical.

I think the best sauce would be the simplest. You want your sauce to carry the other flavors, not overpower them. Tomatoes garlic and basil are the key flavors for my sauce. Any other flavors (such as oregano etc.) can be added with or after the toppings.