Lemon Zinger

Growing up with a mother from Texas and a father from Florida didn’t yield much of an Italian influence in our kitchen. Pasta dishes were limited to spaghetti with meat sauce (always ground turkey, not beef) or fettuccini alfredo (from a jar). It’s no surprise then that I’m not the biggest pasta eater (and given that white flour is now verboten on practically every diet, I guess that’s convenient). True, pasta is cheap and fast, but I’ve never been wild about my own tomato basil sauce, usually relying on heaps of mozzarella baked on top to jazz up the flavor.

It was with interest that I recently read a recipe for a “basic” tomato sauce in one of my cooking magazines. It only had 5 ingredients (garlic, red pepper, tomatoes, basil and lemon), but the fifth ingredient jumped out at me, as I’ve never before included it in my sauce. I have a few other things I usually throw into the mix and, after just one try, I’m happy to report that the addition of lemon zest into my standard tomato basil mashup went swimmingly. It was amazing how much freshness the zest added—it was like going from instant vanilla pudding to crème brûlée: no contest. It now seems such a logical addition that I’m a little amazed I never thought to add this “secret” ingredient myself.

But my past wrongs have been righted: the secret is now in my sauce.

Tomato Sauce with Lemon and Basil

Yields about 4 cups.

extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion (preferably Vidalia), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
thyme leaves from 2 sprigs
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
28 oz can crushed tomatoes (with juices)
½ cup water or vegetable stock
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
zest of one lemon
½ cup fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

Put a large pot over medium heat and add two swirls of the pot of olive oil. Add the onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme leaves and red pepper and sauté 2 minutes more. Add in the crushed tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, bay leaf and lemon zest and bring up to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the basil leaves and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta.