My Marinara Sauce

Description
To make a good marinara sauce you have to start with good tomatoes. Finding a good tomato product can involve a bit of trial and error. Look for canned tomatoes with no citric acid or calcium chloride added. When I make a sauce at home, I usually use whole plum tomatoes and crush them by hand. If you like the tomatoes more finely chopped, you can pulse them in a blender for a few seconds.
 * Source: Cooking with the Firehouse Chef by Keith Young FDNY Ladder-156
 * Contributed by Catsrecipes Y-Group
 * Preparation time: 10 minutes
 * Cooking time: 45 minutes
 * Serves 5 to 6

Ingredients

 * 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and mince
 * ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
 * 1 medium onion, diced
 * 3 (28-ounce) cans whole plum tomatoes, hand crushed or blended
 * 6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
 * salt, to taste
 * ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste

Directions

 * 1) In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, sauté the garlic in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes, until it starts to turn golden.
 * 2) Add the onion and sauté until it becomes translucent, about 5 minutes.
 * 3) Add the tomatoes, bring the sauce to a simmer, and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
 * 4) Add the basil, salt, and crushed red pepper, and simmer another 5 minutes.
 * 5) Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings.
 * 6) Now it's ready to serve over your favorite pasta or to use as the base for another delicious sauce such as puttanesca or alla vodka.