Tomato Basil Sauce - the easy way

The other day I looked at my basil plant and thought OH NO!  I better make something fast.  I’m a pesto traditionalist and not into the variations that have cropped up through the years.  I like the basic centuries old Genoa recipe – basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano, Pecorino and olive oil.  But didn’t I have any pine nuts. So no pesto – this time.

I did however have canned whole tomatoes from Michael Anthony’s market and, uhm, basil.

No recipe needed - Here’s what I did…

     I got out my machete, hacked my way through the basil container forest and ended up with about half the basil leaves from my voracious plant. 

Basil plant post hacking - still huge

I pulled out a large saucepan and began crushing those tomatoes with my hands, which caused a huge mess all over the kitchen counter and me.  I chucked in the basil leaves – don’t ask me how many, just lots!

I used way more than this but I wanted to show the tomatoes

Added a little white wine, lots of olive oil, and let the sauce simmer all day.  The result was a really fresh, simple tasting sauce that was perfect since I didn’t have any pine nuts.  But I will next time and guess what?  That basil plant is right back to where it was pre- hacking. I swear the thing is on steroids!