My own personal preference is to work with the fresh, green leaf herbs (sweet basil and oregano). These add a whole different dimension to the flavor of the sauce. It also takes the heart burn out of the sauce too. I used to work with some rather complicated sauces, but I’ve gravitated to the concept of simpler is better. Now, after many years, my favorite sauce is nothing more than Stanislaus 70/40 Tomato Fillets, drained well. I then brush the dough skin with olive oil, add some diced garlic, sprinkle on the cut-up green leaf basil and or oregano, followed by a hand full of the tomato fillets, I then sprinkle on a blend of Parmesan and Romano cheese, followed by the requested toppings.
If you want to add either garlic or onion to the sauce in the conventional manner, its best to put them into a small amount of water and boil them (microwave) before adding to the sauce. This will inavtivate the enzymes responsible for causing the tomato pectins to gel, resulting in a jelled sauce on the following day. This is probably not all that bad, but we correct the jelling issue by adding more water to the sauce, further thinning/diluting the flavor. I think this might be one of the reasons why we find so many otherwise good pizzas spoiled with over-flavored sauce. Then to add insult to injury, you can’t taste the cheese anymore, because your taste buds are wiped out on the seasonings, especially the dried oregano and basil. By heating the onion and/or garlic, the toamto product in your sauce doesn’t gel, so there is no change in viscosity over time and it is easier to establish and maintain the desired flavor level of the sauce.
Just one man’s humble opinion.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
