Since I love to cook our family tends to make meals from scratch. And so I have no idea why I’ve never even attempted to make pizza sauce.

Yesterday, after discovering we were out of bottled sauce, I started scouring cookbooks and the internet to see if I could find a recipe that would please both the adult and teen palates that grace our household.

Mission accomplished: the following recipe, the first one I tried, elicited rave reviews from both my husband, a pizza connoisseur, and my 15-year-old son. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

6 fluid oz. warm water

3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. minced garlic

2 T. honey

1 tsp. anchovy paste (optional – I used a splash of fish sauce)

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried marjoram

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, anchovy paste, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt; mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.

2. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.