Napoli em Casa

Tomato sauce for Neapolitan pizza

Peeled tomatoes, salt and basil. No cooking: the sauce cooks on top of the pizza and stays fresh and bright.

5 minPrep
0Rest
in the ovenBake
6 pizzasMakes
Illustration of tomato sauce spread in a spiral over a stretched pizza dough

Ingredients

  • Good-quality peeled tomatoes (San Marzano DOP or pelati style)400 g
  • Fine salt5 g
  • Basil leaves3–4
  • Extra virgin olive oil (optional)1 tbsp

In Naples the sauce is not cooked ahead of time. The tomato cooks on top of the pizza in the oven and keeps its fresh flavor. That is why the quality of the tomatoes is everything.

Method

  1. Drain the peeled tomatoes and set the liquid aside.
  2. Crush the tomatoes by hand or pass them through a food mill. Avoid an immersion blender: it breaks the seeds and makes the sauce bitter and orange.
  3. Add the salt and the torn basil leaves. If it is too thick, add a little of the reserved liquid.
  4. Use 70–80 g per pizza, spread in a spiral with the back of a ladle, from the center outward.
  5. Keeps for 3 days in the fridge in a sealed jar.

Which tomatoes to choose

Look for whole peeled tomatoes in a can or jar, with few ingredients. San Marzano DOP is the benchmark; Italian pelati-style tomatoes or a rustic passata also work well. If the tomatoes are very acidic, don't add sugar: use better or riper tomatoes.

Keep going