Give Your Red Sauce A Tangy Flavor Boost With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Almost every cook seems to have a secret recipe for their famous homemade tomato sauce, whether that's adding a pinch of sugar, a stick of butter, or a sprinkle of spice like red pepper flakes, cinnamon, or nutmeg. You may not think a single thing is missing from your sauce's formulation — least of all, more tomato. But believe it or not, different kinds of tomato, from canned and jarred to paste and even tomato oil, bring a diversity of qualities to the table. Once added to your pot, they may give you a new dimension of flavor you never knew you were missing.

One option in particular that seems to be overlooked for simmering into a sauce is the sun-dried tomato. When incorporated into a standard tomato sauce base (for example, along with canned tomatoes), these chewy bits translate to big flavor. The drying process concentrates all the sweet and tart goodness inherent to the tomato by eliminating about 90% of its mass. In the context of a tomato sauce, this means more tang and zip, as well as an umami oomph that brings depth and complexity to your already delicious condiment — a welcome new layer no matter what your recipe entails.

Sun-dried tomatoes are a major element of Italian food culture, particularly in warm and sun-beaten southern regions, where historically they were dried on rooftops out in the sun and sometimes seasoned with oil and spices. These days, you might find them made through a number of processes, including the true-to-its-name traditional scenario, but also in a dehydrator or oven. Commercial operations use modern measures, with drying equipment that prioritizes efficient, consistent outcomes for packaging purposes, but if you prefer to have a more natural version, you can even make sun-dried tomatoes at home. Just set your oven to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and sit tight for several hours (it can take a range of time, depending on our preferred level of dryness, your oven, and the moisture and size of your fruits).

Once you source your sun-dried goodies, you can use a blender to incorporate them into your sauce and achieve a puree-like consistency, then simmer the mixture along with your other carefully chosen ingredients. Depending on how dry the tomatoes are, you may want to reconstitute them in water so they break down more easily during the cooking process. In no time, you'll have a brand new take on your go-to tomato sauce.

Anything in which you'd use your typical tomato sauce will enjoy the added sun-dried flavor element. Think about your favorite pastas, from spaghetti to rigatoni. Utilize sun-dried tomato sauce in a cheesy baked ziti, where the oven baking would further concentrate its flavors. Or, add a little cream and booze for a sun-dried tomato penne alla vodka. For a slight deviation from the world of noodles, try a dollop of the sauce stirred into creamy corn polenta or folded into a luxurious risotto with fresh herbs and cheese.

If you want to up the protein ante, incorporate sun-dried tomato sauce into your next batch of chicken Parmesan. It's also an excellent base sauce for pizza, perhaps topped with burrata and hot honey for a sweet and spicy profile with a balancing creaminess. If you're feeling more like a snack, serve the sauce as a dip for gooey mozzarella sticks, or spread it on toast for a tangy spin on tomato crostini with goat cheese. Once you have a handle on how your sun-dried tomatoes enhance your sauce, you can follow your taste buds for all kinds of inspiration.