Sun Dried Tomato and Herb Pizza Sauce

I know in the title is says pizza sauce but I find it is also great as just a marinara for dipping or for topping some pasta. A lot of times I won't have anything to make pasta sauce or have any jarred kind (I try not to buy it but if we need to hurry) but I will find a can of tomato paste. Here is a quick, simple way to turn that one little can of tomato paste into something fantastic in just a few minutes.


You will need:

1 small can tomato paste
1/2 can of water
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon raw sugar or agave syrup
2 teaspoons of *pizza or Italian herbs mix
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked and water reserved (not the oil-packed kind)

Get your tomatoes soaking. This will take the longest. I get some good hot water from the tea kettle and pour over the dish of tomatoes just to cover well. It normally takes about 20 minutes to get them soft enough for this sauce.

While you're waiting on your tomatoes, mix the tomato paste, garlic, olive oil, sugar, herbs and salt in a mixing bowl. I like to use a bowl I can cover to save dishes. This is best if it sits even just an hour.
Once your tomatoes are soft, pour some of the soaking water into the tomato paste can to fill it about halfway full. You can use more if you want your sauce thinner. Discard the unused water.
Finely chop the soaked tomatoes, stir into the sauce mixture and now you're done.

 This will be enough for 2 large pizzas with a moderate layer of sauce on each, or a couple servings of pasta. If you're having bread sticks, or garlic bread and want a dip, the small can will render enough for the dipping sauce. Increase the recipe to suit your needs.

*My Natural Grocer has these fabulous bulk mixes they prepare themselves. This one has oregano, basil, thyme, sage and marjoram. Play with the herb blends you love. These are also fabulous in the fresh version instead of dried. Remember to increase your amount of fresh herbs used and bruise them up a bit to release the maximum amount of flavor.
I have made a version similar. Store what you don't use in an air-tight container or jar. Keep away from direct sunlight, as you should with all your herbs and spices.

4 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried sage


 Mix well and use as needed.  Store what you don't use in an air-tight container or jar. Keep away from direct sunlight, as you should with all your herbs and spices.


You can always make additions like some chopped mushrooms, peppers or onions, but I leave mine plain as it is mostly used for pizza in our house and I add those separately.

I forgot to take a picture of it in the bowl before I used it.

The dark pile to the right is the sun dried tomatoes. I didn't incorporate them into the sauce the first time I made this. I just used them as another topping to the pizza.

I'm in the middle of moving and I have piles of handwritten recipes that I've already packed up. Once I can organize all those again I will have a lot more to add to the blog.  Please feel free to ask questions or let me know how you modified a recipe to your own liking. I adore new ideas :)

This is one of the finished pizzas right before the oven for the not quite full-time vegans in the family. It was a vegetarian-style cheese from the Natural Grocer. For the all vegan version you can choose to top it with a cheeze sauce with a nut base, use a vegan cheese like Daiya, which we do use once in a great while but normally make a cheeze, or you can leave it un-cheezed like I often do. If your sauce , crust and toppings are packed with  flavor you won't miss the cheese. Add a giant vegetable salad with all the colors of the rainbow and this will stuff a family of 4 with leftovers a quick lunch tomorrow.