The tomato sauce my mother makes is simple and delicious.  During the summer, my mother used sweet, red, ripe tomatoes and fragrant basil grown in my father’s vegetable garden.  In the winter months she made her sauce using tomatoes from the garden which she had canned with help from me and my sister.  When I don’t have access to either I use store-bought canned peeled San Marzano tomatoes.  These are the most flavorful and since they are peeled and not crushed or pureed, they are as close to their original state as you can find in store bought cans.  This particular sauce recipe uses pork meat and gives it a tasty flavor. In the village my family is from, pigs are butchered in very late December/early January and fresh pork ribs are available for this sauce. The pork ribs are eaten as the second course of the meal, with the pasta over which the sauce is served being the first.

Cut the pork chops into halves or thirds and place in a pot covered with water.  Bring the water to a boil and skim the foamy layer which comes up to the top, drain the remaining water and set aside.   To a large sauce pot heated over medium high heat add 1 and a half tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Thinly slice a medium onion, add to the heated olive oil along with a garlic clove and cook until translucent (about 2 to 3 minutes), stirring occasionally so they do not brown.  While the onion is cooking puree the peeled tomatoes in a blender or food mill.  Once the onions are translucent, remove the garlic clove and then add the pork meat and brown on all sides. Add the pureed peeled tomatoes to the sauce pot.  Add salt to taste about 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of salt, a few fresh basil leaves, and the optional chili pepper.  Cover and simmer gently on low heat for about 2 to 3 hours.  The sauce should be thick.  If it is too thin, cook it uncovered to reduce it.  If it is too thick add a little water to thin it out.
Ladle a layer of sauce on the bottom of a serving bowl, add the drained pasta and if you (and everyone eating) like cheese on your pasta now is the time to add it (grated pecorino cheese), top it off with more sauce.  It’s important not to add so much sauce (or cheese for that matter) that the pasta is swimming in it, add just enough to complement it…less is more.  Mix the sauce and pasta together and then serve it out in pasta bowls…My mother always dished mine out first, because I was the youngest!

*An interesting note about Hot Chili Peppers/Peperoncini.  Peperoncini is the generic name in Italian for hot chili peppers. Calabria is the land of peperoncini and the red chili pepper, peperoncino, is the symbol of Calabria.  Peperonicini need a hot climate and since Calabria is sunny most of the year, they thrive in it. Therefore, peperoncini are important in Calabrese cuisine.  In late summer they are dried in the sun to conserve them.  They are eaten whole, fried, crushed, powdered, or made into a paste.