Whether using fresh tomatoes or canned, crushed tomatoes or a blend of whole and crushed, you want to start with top-notch tomatoes. When using canned, the long-entrenched wisdom is to look to San Marzano tomatoes from Campania, Italy. But many tomato wonks now believe that the best California tomatoes have surpassed Italy’s finest. If you live beyond the reach of excellent smaller-batch California canned tomato brands, like Bianco DiNapoli, you can order them online. (That said, sticking with big-name San Marzano brands is still a great starting point.) RELATED: 6 Things You Eat Every Day That Are Probably Expired RELATED: 19 Perfect Pasta Dishes You’ll Want to Make for Dinner Tonight You’ll want to use a pasta brand that will let the soulfulness of your sauce shine. If you’re using dry pasta, be sure you buy noodles extruded through bronze dies. This creates a rough surface that catches the sauce, letting it more tightly cling to the pasta slopes and hollows. If you want the very best boxed noodles, look for pasta from Gragnano, Italy. Like great canned tomatoes, they are worth the cost, especially when you consider the affordability of a large pasta meal to begin with. And now, the final steps. If you’ve made an oil-based tomato sauce, finish your individually portioned pasta with a glug of olive oil. If you’ve made a butter-based sauce, try mixing in a sliver or two of butter. And finally, be sure you eat your pasta hot, shortly out of the pan. Hot pasta—plus the rest of these minor tweaks—will give you the best chance at a direct flight to Sunday sauce heaven.
